Beautiful with You
by CrimsonWolfKo
Summary: 3rd story to Angel with a Shotgun and Last Goodbye. Gruvia have been together for many years, but now their lives have become a total mess. Their kids face the harshness of divorcing parents as they deal with their own lives through high school and college.( GaLe and LoLu kids included as well ) *Will update this later. M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Ok so first chapter for the third story of the trilogy. Please, if you have not read the first two stories, Angel with a Shotgun, and Last Goodbye, I would advise you go read them first. This story is mainly going to deal with GaLe, LoLu, and Gruvia's kids, along with a good portion of Gruvia's story. There will be some time skips in the first few chapters. Rated M for later chapters as well.**

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><p>Four years later….<p>

Leo looked around the inside of the new tree house Finn had received from this parents for his birthday just a few days ago. The small blonde haired child looked around with wide olive-green eyes, his small mouth opened wide. He ran around the small space, taking in every detail of their new club house.

"Finn you're so lucky! How did your parents know to get this for you?!" Leo's head was racing as he looked through his best friends' toys and comics. Finn smiled and laughed slightly as he watched Leo run around the small tree house excitedly.

"Well I did ask them for a while now. I've been working really hard on my chores and I've been keeping up with my school work and grades too. They wanted me to work on my magic, but I can't seem to get it right." Finn looked away, eyes shifting down to his feet as he rubbed them on the wood floor. Leo had half of his body in Finn's toy trunk as he talked to his friend.

"But your dad is making you practice every day right?"

Finn rolled his eyes as he sighed. "Yeah, with Rain. And her magic comes to her naturally. I just can't seem to get it to stay in its form…."

Leo lifted his body up, his arms full of toys as he walked back over to his friend. "Don't worry about it dude. You'll get it one day."

Finn sat down on the wooden floor and picked up one of his toys as Leo sat down across from him, choosing his favorite toy from Finn's toy trunk. "I don't know… my dad has been acting weird lately. He's been putting more pressure on me to succeed… and I've been hearing him and mom fighting a lot lately."

Leo looked at his friend. "At least your parents aren't all lovey-dovey with each other! It's so gross when I see my parents kissing or acting all cute with each other." Leo stuck out his tongue as he frowned and shook his head. Finn laughed heartedly at Leo's reaction.

"So why isn't Gaje here?" Leo asked as he picked up another toy from the pile.

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "Mom told me that he wanted to stay at home with Pantherlily and read. Lily is playing with Rain inside."

Leo glared at the toy as he spoke. "Ugh… Lily…"

Finn blushed slightly as someone else mentioned her name. "What's wrong with Lily?"

Leo looked at his friend, an annoyed expression over his face. "Dude, girls are already gross, Lily just is the worst one of all! She's bossy, and mean, and she always wants to play with us! Not to mention she picks on me a lot…. I don't like her or any other girl that I come across!"

Finn's eyes moved away from his friends' hard gaze. "I… I don't think she's that mean… or bossy…."

Leo crashed his toy into Finn's to get his attention back. "Then you're just stupid! You know as well as I do that all girls have cooties, they want to take over the world, and worst of all… I hear they drool!"

Finn frowned as his eyebrows narrowed. "That's not true. Only babies drool, Leo. You probably heard that from that one chant. Boys rule and girls drool."

Leo stood up quickly and clenched his fists. "I'm serious! I've see it with my own eyes!"

Finn looked up at Leo. "Where did you see a girl drooling?"

The five year old put his small arms over his chest and looked away from Finn. "In Miss Strauss's class. A girl that sits next to me drools. That's why girls are so gross! They drool and have cooties that could kill you!"

Finn rolled his eyes, not wanting to believe his friend. "If girls are so gross and if they have cooties, then how come our parents are still happy and together? And not dead?"

Leo looked down at Finn, pondering his statement for a minute before sitting down quickly, his arms still across his chest. "I don't know! Parents are different I guess!"

Before Finn could get another word out, a familiar voice could be heard from outside of Finn's tree house. Finn's heart began to flutter slightly as he heard the voice speak up to them from outside. He quickly stood up and ran out to the railing. He looked over its edge to see Lily and Rain standing at the large tree's base, looking up at Finn with smiles.

Lily had grown up even more since last Finn saw her. Even though she was only nine, she was sprouting up in height quickly. Her black hair was wild as ever. She would sometimes have it braided and pulled back behind her head, but for the most part, she let it stay wild around her head, only holding back a few strands with her headband. Lily was finishing up the third grade as Finn had just started the second grade. Leo was in kindergarten with Rain.

Finn thoroughly enjoyed his time with Leo and Lily. They were his best friends, even if Lily and Leo both hated each other with a passion. Ever since Leo was able to talk, the two never seemed to be able to get along, leaving Finn stuck in the middle. But he didn't mind. They never fought over his friendship, knowing he would choose both in the end of any situation.

Finn looked over at his sister who was holding onto Lily's hand lightly. Rain looked just like their mother, the solid navy blue eyes, her pale colored skin, and her hair color was a mix between Juvia's light blue and Gray's dark blue. The short bob on the girls head would look completely ridiculous on any other girl, but it seemed to fit Rain perfectly.

Finn's eyes drifted back towards Lily who stood at the bottom, staring up at Finn with a smile on her face. "Finn! Can Rain and I come up too? We want to play with you guys."

Finn opened his mouth to speak when he heard Leo behind him, scrambling to get up. A few seconds later, Leo's hands were on the railing, his body leaning over the side as he pointed at the small painted sign.

"NO girls allowed Lily! Can't you read?!"

Lily let go of Rain's hand and put her own hands on her hips, smirking up at the small blonde boy. "I can read, Leo. But it looks to me like you can't spell "girls" right. It's "I" not a "U."

Rain giggled as both of the boy looked down at the sign they made. Finn glared back at Leo. "You didn't spell girls right, idiot!"

"Hey you are the one who is in second grade! You should have caught that!"

"Any kid in kindergarten can spell girl!"

Leo growled as he looked back down at Lily. "It's supposed to be spelled like that! Because… caz… girls are dumb! And they drool!"

Finn brought a hand up to his face, letting it run down slowly as he groaned. Leo stood there beside him in confidence at his response.

Lily scoffed as she smiled. "I'll have you know, that girls tend to do better in school than boys do. And we do not drool. That something you stupid boys made up." Lily looked towards Finn and smirked. "Finn! Drop down the rope, we want to come up and play."

Finn looked at Leo. His friend stood there shaking his head no. "What's the harm in letting my sister and Lily come up to play? Her parents and your parents should be coming here soon, so it's not like they're gonna be up here that long."

Leo became frustrated towards Finn. "Dude, if you let those girls up here… I… I… I won't be your friend anymore! This is a boys club only!"

Finn rolled his eyes and lowered down the rope to the girls. He turned around and faced Leo who began to pout with is arms across his chest. "Look, it's my tree house, I can let whoever I want up here. And… I honestly don't have a problem with Lily… I like having her around."

Leo mumbled under his breath as he looked away from Finn. Finn smiled slightly, bringing one of his hands up and spitting into it. He stuck out his hand towards Leo as he smiled. "Still friends?"

Leo's eyebrows narrowed as he glared at Finn, his olive-green eyes shifting from Finns solid blue ones to his outstretched hand. After a minute of thinking, Leo smiled and spit into his own hand, taking Finn's hand into his. "Forever."

"Ew, you guys are the gross ones. Who in their right minds spits into their hands and then shakes hands with another?" Lily said as she stood behind the two.

"You don't get it caz you're a girl!" Leo said as he stuck his tongue out towards Lily.

"Whatever Leo… say, Finn! Want to do me a huuuge favor? And be my totally awesome and bestest friend?" Lily said as she wrapped her arms around her back, leaning in slightly as she smiled at Finn. Finn blushed once more, a goofy look coming over his face as Lily stared into his deep blue eyes.

"W-what do you need Lily?" He asked shyly.

Lily giggled and brought her hands out in front of her body, holding onto a hairbrush. "Can you brush my hair? No one else can do it like you."

Finn took hold of her brush and followed Lily inside the tree house, sitting down behind her. Leo watched his friend being sucked into Lily's commands as he shook his head. He looked over to Rain who picked up a toy he had just been playing with. The blonde haired boy ran over and snatched away the toy from her hands.

"Girls aren't allowed to play with my toys!"

Rain looked up at him with sad eyes. "But… those are Finn's toys, and he said I could play with them too…."

Leo growled as he clenched the toy in his hand. "Tears don't work on me, Rain! So don't even try to start crying like a little girl!"

Finn ran the brush through Lily's thick hair, smoothing out her wild mane. "Leo, don't be mean to my sister. If she wants to play with a toy, let her."

"Yeah Leo… don't you know that boys are supposed to be nice to girls?" Lily added in as she sat there contently with her eyes closed while Finn brushed her hair.

Leo growled and tossed the toy back to Rain. "Fine! But when you get cooties, don't come crying to me Finn!"

Finn blew off Leo's comment and looked down at Lily's ear as he brushed her hair. She had just gotten new piercings the other day. He noticed they were small metal earrings. Finn thought to himself how Lily was striving to look like her father more and more. And for the most part, acting just like him. She had already mastered her dragon slayer senses that she discovered when she was younger, and was already working on solid script magic like her mother. She was truly amazing in his eyes. He often looked up to her when it came to magic. She was always the better of the two.

The older girl's ears picked up on Leo mumbling to himself under his breath. Lily opened a hazel eye slightly, smiling slightly as she spoke to Leo. "Why don't you just leave if you don't want to be around us girls, Leo."

Leo clenched his fists towards Lily. "I ain't leavin' caz I was here first! Besides my parents are coming to get me after you leave!"

"Is that so?" Lily said with a smirk. Moments later, Loke and Lucy's voices could be heard from below.

"Leo, sweetie, it's time to go!" Lucy called up.

"Come on, kiddo. We gotta get going!" Loke called up after Lucy.

Leo glared at Lily and whispered as he headed for the door. "Stupid dragon slayer hearing…"

"Hey, wait for me Leo, I'll come down with ya."

"Don't bother… I see you're too busy with the _dragons'_ mane."

Lily opened her eyes as she shot a look towards Leo who stuck out his tongue towards her, pulling down his bottom eyelid at the same time before sneaking down the rope.

"H-He didn't mean it Lily… don't be mad at him…" Finn said softly, trying to calm down his friend.

Lily scoffed and looked back at Finn. "Like I'd get worked up at that little pipsqueak and what he calls me. As if, Finn."

Finn looked down as he continued to brush her dark hair. He could see past that smile on her face as she played with Rain. She hated being called a dragon just because of her senses. Finn knew Leo struck a chord with Lily every time he called her that. He felt bad sometimes because he knew that she didn't really get along with others in her own grade, so she always wanted to be around Finn and Leo. He was constantly wishing the two would get along better so they all could have a fun time as they played.

An hour went by before Levy and Gajeel showed up to pick up Lily. The three small kids entered through the back door leading into the kitchen where their parents were talking to one another. Finn noticed it was just his mother, Gajeel, and Levy in the kitchen. He looked past the grownups into the next room, but saw no sign of his father.

Levy smiled down at Finn and Rain as she spoke. "Did you kids have fun today?"

Finn and Rain nodded at the same time, smiling back at Levy. Gajeel grinned as he ran his large hand over Lily's head. "What 'bout you kid? You have a good time?"

"Yes, I did."

Levy turned to Juvia and took her hands into her own. "Thank you so much for watching the kids, Juvia. We got stuck in traffic so I'm so sorry we're late. Lu and Loke left before we did so they missed all the craziness."

Juvia smiled lightly as she spoke. "It's never a problem Levy. The kids were perfectly fine."

Levy turned around to Lily. "You ready to go Lil? We have to get back home so Pantherlily can take a break from watching your brother and start making dinner."

"Yep. I'm ready to go." Lily ran over to Juvia and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Aunt Juvia for letting me come over." Lily let go after a moment and went back to her parents sides, turning her head and waving at Finn and Rain. "Bye Finn, bye Rain."

Finn waved goodbye and watched his friend walk out of sight. His eyes went back to his mother as she turned around, walking over to the counter. She didn't say a word to either of them, but Finn could tell something wasn't right. Where was his father? Why did his mom look so gloomy? His thoughts stopped as he heard sniffling coming from his mother. Finn made his way over to her and tugged on her clothes lightly.

"Mom… is everything ok?"

Finn watched her for a moment. She brought a hand up to her face, sliding the back of her wrist over her eyes before she smiled down at Finn. "Everything is fine Finn. I'm just cutting some onions. Why don't you take your sister out back and practice your magic together?"

Finn looked down, his eyes saddening. "I'm no good at it… Rain is better and she's younger than me. I'll never be able to become an ice mage."

Juvia brought a finger underneath Finn's chin, lifting it slightly. Finn looked into his mother's loving eyes, a smile was across her face as she spoke. "I believe in you Finn, in both you and your sister. Don't lose faith in yourself or your magic. It's what makes you so special. You just have to keep practicing and I'm sure you'll get it one day."

Finn half smiled back and nodded. "Ok. I'll try." The dark haired boy went back to his sister and led her back outside to the backyard.

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><p>As the evening went on, Finn and Rain continued to practice outside, waiting to be called in for dinner. Finn exhaled slowly, his eyes closed and his mind focused. He brought his hands around to the front of him, one hand open, the other closed tightly. An icy aurora forming around his hands, slowly growing as he concentrated. His skinny body shook slightly as he tried desperately to hold onto his maker magic stance. Rain stood beside him, cheering him on.<p>

"You got it Finn! You almost got it! Just a little longer big bro!"

Finn's eyes slowly began to open as he looked out to his hands, excitement was building inside of him as he saw the magic growing from him. "Rain… stand back.. I'm gonna try to make something."

Rain's excited and cheerful expression changed as she watched her brother. "But Finn, dad says you're not ready—"

"I can do it! Mom believes in me and I believe in myself Rain! Stand back!"

Rain reluctantly did as her brother told her, bringing a fist up to her chest as she watched him.

Finn took in a breath, a second later, he increased his magic power, preparing himself to create something with ice. "Ice make…shield…" Magic power flew around Finn as ice began to form from his hands. He smiled widely as he watched his ice shield grow in front of his body. Moments later, the shield vanished into thin air, leaving Finn completely exhausted as he fell down onto the grass, panting heavily.

"I.. almost had it…"

"Finn!"

The two children looked back towards the back door where Gray stood, his arms crossed over his chest. Finn stood slowly and clenched his fists as he looked at his father. "I was just practicing…"

"I told you, you weren't ready for the next step in your training."

Finn's head moved downward. "I thought I could do it this time…"

"I've told you countless times that you weren't ready and you still try to push yourself. You're not your sister, so don't force this magic to work."

"I'm seven years old and rain is only five! I should be able to do more than her!"

Gray raised his voice as he spoke. "Everyone is different and learn magic at different rates. Your sister just has more confidence in herself and her magic. I suggest you do the same!" Gray turned around and closed the door behind him.

Finn could hear it starting up again. His parents arguing. He could make out his mother defending him as Gray shouted back how he won't ever get anywhere if Juvia kept babying him. Finn felt his heart sink as their fight went on. Why are they fighting… is it because of me?... did I do this to our family? Finn glanced over to Rain who had tears forming in her eyes. She always hated how their parents fought. He went over to his younger sister and took her hand into his. He led them up to the tree house, closing the door behind him as they entered the small room. Rain sniffled as she sat down on the floor. Finn was quick to wrap a blanket around his sister, turning on a small lamp for light, and rummaging through a small cabinet for some snacks.

He handed his sister a small bag of cookies and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"Do you think mom and dad are going to be mad at each other forever?" Rain asked in between sniffles.

Finn held his sister close. "I don't think so Rain. I think they are just mad at me."

Rain looked up to her brother with tears in her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"Well… I'm the oldest, and I'm a boy. They can't be mad a cute little girl like you." Finn smiled down at his sister, reassuring her everything was ok. Rain smiled back and hugged Finn tightly.

"I'll never be mad at you Finn… You're the best big brother anyone could ask for."

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><p>'<em>That was the last time I ever saw my mother and sister smile like that. Nothing has been the same since that day. As the years went on, things progressively got worse for our family. It's been nine years since then…'<em>

Finn and Rain left the house quickly, trying to avoid the growing fight between their parents. Finn readjusted his backpack as they walked down the sidewalk to the bus stop. Finn let out a long sigh before he spoke.

"I don't think they ever went to sleep."

Rain looked down as she walked, her face expressionless and quiet. Finn watched her as they walked. Rain had become more and more stoic over the years. Listening to their parents fighting everyday was taking a toll on the both of them, but Finn believed it was hitting Rain the hardest. She was only five when their parents starting fighting really bad. He wanted to be strong for his little sister. He wanted to see her smile again.

Finn's thoughts continued as they reached the bus stop just minutes before the bus had arrived. Finn would always sit next to his sister on the bus, even though her own friends were riding the same bus, the two would always sit with each other until they reached school. Once they got there, they would both go their separate ways to their own classes, and wouldn't see each other until the end of the day when the buses came back around to get them and take them home.

Finn was at his locker when a girl approached him shyly. He wasn't the biggest, or best looking guy in the school, but he managed to get a girl to ask him out every other day. Today was one of those days. He watched the girl approach him, a red blush over her cheeks as she moved her hair behind her ears, holding her books close to her chest as she looked up into his eyes.

"H-Hey Finn…"

"Hey, what's up?" Finn grabbed multiple books and placed them into his bag before shutting his locker door. The girl shifted her weight around nervously.

"Well.. I was just wondering… if, well, if you wanted to go out with me some time? Like on a date?"

Finn sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Look, you're a nice girl and all… but… I'm sorry. I just can't."

Finn saw the tears forming in her eyes, she put on a smile and nodded her head before turning around on her heel and walking away from Finn. Finn let out a breath as he turned around only to take a step back suddenly as Leo stood right in front of him now.

"Dude, what the hell? How long have you been standing there?"

Leo, Finn's best friend since they were younger, was standing before Finn with his arms over his chest. He had his blue-tinted glasses on top of his short blonde hair, and wore a stylish green jacket with an orange undershirt. He simply shook his head at Finn as he turned around and started walking away. Finn adjusted his straps and caught up with his friend.

"I can't believe you let down another good lookin' girl."

"What's it to you? You're with a new girl every week!" Finn responded angrily.

Leo pointed a finger out in front of him as he walked. "That may be, but I've got a lot of love to go around."

"So in other words, you're a horn dog. You know you shouldn't do that, caz it could come back and bite you in the ass if you keep going out with different girls every week."

Leo stopped and gripped Finn's shoulders. "And what? Be like you? Holding out for a girl who you've known your whole life, a girl who thinks of you as a brother and nothing more? You're not gonna get anywhere with her so you should just be like me and test the waters."

Finn brushed off Leo's hand as he scoffed. "You don't know her like I do. She's different when she's with me." Finn starting walking past Leo, heading for his class. He could hear Leo calling back to him.

"You need to give it up man! It'll be a cold day in hell before you can go out with Lily! You're her lap dog and nothing more! She's just gonna keep using you Finn!"

Finn ignored his friend and raced up the stairs to his class.

'_It's not true… I'm not her brother or lap dog… he doesn't know what the hell he's talkin' about.'_

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><p><strong>AN: I may make some changes to this chapter, but overall I think it is good. Like I said, a bit of time skipping here, more to come. If I do end up making changes, I will inform you all in the second chapter that I hope to have up this weekend. :)<strong>

**** also Finn and the rest of the kids are currently in junior/high school atm... not sure if i made mention of that caz i didn't go back and read over what I wrote .**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Chapter 2**

**I'm going to try to update at least once a week with this story. I probably would have had a couple more chapters up if I was more motivated to write instead of playing games instead lol**

**Little Indian Girl: thanks! ^.^ I know I am very excited to write this last story. It might even end up being longer than the other two since I'm writing in some extra stuff before the major part of the story begins. ( not saying this stuff isn't important, but just saying that I'm trying to take my time with this story as much as I can so I don't feel like I rushed through it lol ) **

****Song that Lily sings in this chapter is called Bubbly, by Colbie Caillat. It's the acoustic version so if you want to listen to it while you read, you can look it up. ^_^ I own nothing****

**bookworm0313: yay! ^_^ I'm glad you're already excited and there's only two chapters up now! Lol that's always a good sign!**

**NavyNinjaHo: thank you for reading them and loving them! I promise this story will not fail! **

**Mgaa: I know it's sad, but it beats my other decision that I was going to write about…. My other choice was that one of them was going to die… so… yeah… this may be a sad thing happening, but it could have been worse. Make sure you keep reading to find out what happens :) **

**Babymunkhcin: thanks! ^.^**

**Nyma: thank you so much for reading the other two as well as this one! It means a lot to hear that people like these stories! Like I said, I'm going to try to update at least once a week! I was also going to go back and update some stuff in my other two stories after I finish this one and work on one other story I have in mind.**

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><p>Finn skipped steps as he quickly moved up the stairs, wanting to see Lily before class. This time of day, they both had a class right next to each other and usually, Lily would be waiting just outside to talk to Finn for a minute or two before class started. Finn could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he neared the top of the stairs. His excitement was growing as the butterflies swirled around in his stomach. The more he thought about Lily, the wider his grin grew over his face.<p>

Finn reached the top of the stairs and blushed for a moment as he stared dead ahead. She was standing just outside the door; her long dark hair wild as usual, held back by one of her head bands, her slightly darkened skin like her father's shown off in various places from the outfit she had chosen to wear. Her hazel eyes cast down at the open book she held in her hand as she held onto an armful of books with the other.

Finn swallowed the large lump in his throat as he took a few steps forward, his heart racing along with his mind. Finn could hear his heart pounding in his chest as his stomach flipped. He watched her as he walked; everyone and everything around him a blur and silent. He noticed her head come up, a wide smile forming over her lips. His own lips formed a goofy grin as he raised his hand slightly, about to say hello.

Finn's tunnel vision faded as soon as a larger form pushed him out of the way to get past the smaller ice mage. Finn watched as Lily ran up to the larger boy that had pushed past him. Her arms wrapped around the boys neck, her lips pressing against his. Finn adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and rolled his eyes, remembering how _he_ came into the picture.

* * *

><p>Finn sat in the grass, quietly strumming chords on his acoustic guitar. Occasionally he would stop for a moment and write something down in the nearby note book beside him, going right back into his guitar playing as he waited patiently. His lips moved quietly as he mouthed words he had written down, plucking away at the guitar strings lightly. A minute passed before Finn groaned angrily and gripped his dark navy blue hair.<p>

"This just doesn't sound right…" The ice mage let out a breath and looked over at the paper with scribbled notes and music written all over it. Finn sighed as he reached down for the paper, tearing out of the notebook and crumbling the piece of paper into a ball, tossing it over his shoulder behind him in disappointment.

"You shouldn't give up so easily Finn." Said a sweet voice from behind. Finn quickly turned around, a blush already over his face from recognizing the familiar voice.

"L-Lily…"

The girl smiled down at her best friend, a giggle escaping her throat as she heard her name. Her hazel eyes looked down at the small paper ball, curious to what was written on it.

"D-don't look at it… it's…. Not that good…." Finn said as he watched Lily walk around to the front of him. Without a word, Lily sat down beside him, reading over the paper Finn had thrown away.

"Did you write this Finn?"

Hazel eyes looked up and met solid blue. Finn jumped slightly at the sudden gaze from Lily and looked away, his face completely red.

"Well… it… was something I was working on…. Sorta…" Lily giggled as Finn's voice trailed off at the end of his sentence.

"What's with you today?" Lily jokingly asked.

The ice mage shrugged his shoulders as the blush over his cheeks continued to burn into him. Lily smiled as her eyes went back to the piece of paper.

"Finn, this is pretty good so far… why did you throw it away?"

"Well.. 'cause… I-I wanted to write a song for you… to sing… and I didn't think it was working with the acoustic… so I just scrapped it and was going to start something else."

Lily moved closer to Finn, causing his whole body to tense and his heart to race, beating harder in his chest.

"Let's see if it works, start playin'." Lily said as she motioned towards Finn's acoustic guitar.

"Do we even have time? I mean, don't you have a class to get to?"

Lily waved her hand in dismissal. "Pssh. It's just gym class. I can afford to miss one day. Besides I've got straight A's in all my classes so it's not really going to affect me. Now quit talkin' and start playing!"

Finn did as he was told and positioned his guitar in his lap and arms, starting to play for Lily who tapped her hand on her leg, setting a rhythm for herself. Her voice was calm, as she slowly started to sing.

_I've been awake for a while now.  
>You've got me feelin' like a child now.<br>'Cause every time I see your bubbly face,  
>I get the tingles and in a silly place.<em>

Lily breathed in a quick breath as Finn began to play guitar a bit faster to match Lily's singing and rhythm. Her voice speeding up slightly as her hazel eyes followed the written words on the paper. Finn's solid blue eyes closed slightly as he listened to his friend sing, taking in every syllable, every word she sang, memorizing the way they sounded as they left her mouth to his memory.

_It starts in my toes,  
>Makes me crinkle my nose.<br>Wherever it goes, I always know.  
>You make me smile,<br>Please stay for a while now.  
>Just take your time,<br>Wherever you go._

_The rain is fallin' on my window pane,  
>But we're hidin' in a safer place.<br>Under covers stayin' dry and warm,  
>You give me feelings that I adore.<em>

Finn opened his eyes, glancing over to Lily. She was so concentrated on the song she didn't seem to notice him staring at her as he played along with his acoustic guitar. For so long, Finn had wanted so badly to express his fondness for the girl sitting next to him. He had always thought that if he were to write a song for her, maybe she would realize his true feelings he had for her. But every time he had written something, it would just go right over her head, as usual. Lily wasn't the smartest when it came to others feelings. Finn was used to this and didn't mind most of the time. But now that they were in high school, he had set a goal to ask her out before the year would come to an end. The only thing holding him back this whole time was himself. He was still so nervous when she was around. Afraid of losing her as a friend if he had asked her out and she turned him down.

_They start in my toes,  
>And I crinkle my nose,<br>Wherever it goes,  
>I always know.<br>You make me smile,  
>Please stay for a while now.<br>Just take your time,  
>Wherever you go. <em>

Lily paused for a moment and looked at Finn, who immediately blushed bright red, being caught staring at her. She smiled as she sang the next few verses as she looked at her best friend.

_What am I gonna say,  
>When you make me feel this way?<br>I just, mmmmmm_

Lily looked back at the paper and continued to sing. The corner of Finn's lips curled into a half nervous smile. He was sure she was going to say something at that moment, but was thankful she kept singing.

_It starts in my toes,  
>Makes me crinkle my nose.<br>Wherever it goes,  
>I always know.<br>You make me smile,  
>Please stay for a while now.<br>Just take your time,  
>Wherever you go.<em>

Finn stopped playing his acoustic and shrugged his shoulders as he sighed. "And that's all I've written…"

Lily giggled as she handed Finn the piece of paper back. "Well I think you should finish it. It was really good." Lily leaned her body into Finn, nudging him with her arm. "Maybe we should play it this weekend?"

Finn shook his head as he leaned away from Lily. "No way! It's not that good, Lily! Besides… it wasn't meant for a lot of people to play it…"

Lily quickly sat up onto her knees, placing either hand at Finn's sides as she leaned her face in close to his, causing him to nervously lean back on his own hands, his heart pounding in his chest at the sudden closeness.

"Think about it Finn! I could sing it, you can play the guitar, Gaje could play the drums, Rain and Leviana I'm sure can either sing back up or play another instrument! It would totally be awesome for us to do this for our parents!"

Finn closed his eyes gently as he smiled, holding up a finger to Lily. "You kinda forgot Leo…"

Lily rolled her eyes as she smirked. "That blonde haired playboy couldn't carry a tune to save his life, and he was never good at anything he played. So I didn't bother including him. He could stand off to the side and cheer us on as we perform!"

Finn was about to say something when a figure walked up to the two friends, his voice had quite the annoying tone to Finn as he spoke.

"Say, I don't mean to interrupt anything going on here, but I couldn't help but overhear your awesome singing voice."

Finn and Lily both looked up at the boy standing in front of them. He was tall and already slightly tone for his age. He always kept his hair a short buzz cut style. He was always wearing his sports jacket around, reminding people he was the team captain of the football team, as if anyone could ever forget a guy like him. Finn recognized him from the football team, one of the many jocks that would always bully him while he was at his locker, or during lunch. He was in the same grade as Lily and Finn would always catch him glancing at Lily all the time, checking her out.

'_Why the hell is he here? Right now of all times…' _Finn thought to himself. Lily sat back down on the grass beside Finn and leaned back on her arms, looking up at the boy standing beside her, seeming already uninterested in what he was about to say.

"Yeah? What's it to ya?" Lily asked with a raised brow.

The boy grinned and reached into his bag, pulling out a flyer. "My bandmates and I are looking for a new singer. I just thought since you have such a sweet voice, you would like to join—"

"Nope. Sorry." Lily replied quickly, running a hand through her dark hair. Finn smiled and secretly rejoiced in his head as the boy in front of them looked at her with a surprised expression over his face.

"But you never let me finished! How did you know what I was going to say?!"

Lily sighed as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders. "Look, I've been approached by a lot of guys, all wanting me to join up with their band, and all of your heartbeats are the same. Not to mention, my father was in a band once, and he highly discourages me joining one."

The boy nodded towards Finn who jumped slightly. "What about that nervous nerd beside you? You'd sing with him and not with someone like me?"

Lily gave the boy a toothy grin as she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned to one side. "I know that guy quite well, for your information. He's smart, and sweet. Unlike you who probably is dumb as a rock, thinks he's some big shot because he's the captain of football team and in a band. And let me guess, you're some kind of awesome wizard to add on to your resume."

The boy grinned and held a hand up to Lily. It slowly began to form a coolness around it, similar to Finn's magic. Finn rolled his eyes, thinking to himself.

'_Great… another ice wizard competing for her heart…_' Finn watched the two carefully, not sure what was going to happen next.

"So you're an ice mage? Pssh. I bet Finn is also way better at magic than you are as well. More reasons why I shouldn't join your band." Lily said confidently, causing Finn to look down at his own hand disappointedly. She knew he still wasn't up to par with his magic, no matter how hard he practiced.

"Yeah right! I've seen that pip-squeak practice his magic! He's a pathetic excuse for a wizard! He'll never be as good as me!" The boy took his hand back and once again handed Lily the flyer. "Look, I know you're smart, I've seen you around in classes and I know you get good grades. All I'm askin' is for you to consider auditioning. It would be a shame for someone so cute to let her talents go to waste on a pathetic loser who can't even get his own magic right." The boy turned as he smiled, walking away from the two. Lily scoffed and rolled her eyes as she sat back down next to Finn, looking over the flyer. Finn watched her, looking down at the paper, then back up to Lily. He could see the gears turning in her head.

"Y-you're not thinking about actually joining his band… are you?" Finn asked.

Lily looked up at Finn, a blank expression over her face for a moment before she grinned and tossed the paper aside. "Yeah right… my dad would kill me if I joined a band. Besides, if I was going to be in a band, I would have to have complete control over it. And I don't think that guy would go along with that very well. Not to mention, his name. I mean come on, who would name their kid _Chrono_? He practices ice magic, yet his name refers to _time_? What were his parents thinking?!" Lily said with a laugh. Finn laughed slightly as he still knew she was considering joining Chrono's band. He could always tell what she was thinking by the way she acted to certain things.

And right now, from the looks of her, Finn could tell the more she thought about the idea of being in a band, the more she was willing to join.

* * *

><p>Leo's words from earlier broke through Finn's memory of how Chrono and Lily met a year ago as he watched them kiss. Finn shook his head and continued to walk, heading straight for his class, wanting to avoid speaking to either of them. Lily broke the kiss first as Finn came closer, his scent filling her nose. She pushed Chrono aside slightly and waved at Finn.<p>

"Hey Finn!" Lily motioned her boyfriend to wait for a moment as she walked in front of Finn, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"H-hey… Lily…" Finn replied.

Lily let go and stood back from Finn, a wide smile over her face. "So have you written any new songs lately? I've been so busy with the band lately, I haven't been able to stop over."

Finn shrugged his shoulders and shook his head slightly. "It's ok… you don't really want to come over anyways…" The tone of his voice told Lily something was wrong at home. Her eyes grew sad as she clutched her books in her arm tightly.

"Aunt Juvia and Uncle Gray are fighting still?" Finn nodded in response. "How's Rain? She taking it ok?"

"She's…she's gonna be fine."

Lily put a hand to Finn's shoulder, her voice sincere. "If you want, I could take a break from the band for a bit, and you guys can come stay at my house. I'm sure my parents won't mind. I mean they love you two, even that stupid idiot Leo… I don't see why…" Lily's voice trailed off slightly at the end of her sentence. Finn half smiled at Lily.

"It's cool, Lil. And don't worry 'bout us. I'm sure this fighting thing is just a phase all married people go through."

"Yeah, maybe… well hey, I'm going to be busy the rest of the week with school and the band, so I'll see you this weekend at the gathering. I honestly don't know why we still do this. It's not like we're kids anymore!" Lily laughed slightly as she turned, heading back to Chrono as she waved a hand to Finn, saying goodbye. Finn held a hand up without another word. He watched Lily start talking to Chrono as he wrapped a large arm around her shoulders, walking her into their class. Finn's hand dropped down to his side as he stood in silence.

'_We do it so we can all see each other outside of our crazy lives….'_ Finn let out a sigh as he too, walked into his class, his mind still thinking about the one girl that captured his heart without realizing it.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Finn caught up with his sister at her locker, venting to her as she switched out her books for her last class.<p>

"And then he stood there, watching her and looking at her ass! I mean come on dude, have some freaken class! Ugh Rain… it was so annoying, I wanted to punch his freaken face in."

Rain's response was unemotional and blunt with her brother. "Why don't you just tell Lily that you like her? You know that she's stupid when it comes to stuff like this."

Finn crossed his arms over his chest and began to pout, mumbling under his breath. "I've tried… it's easier said than done…."

Rain shrugged her shoulders as she didn't believe her brother and his words. Rain closed her locker door and looked into the eyes of the one boy she couldn't stand. Leo had a grin over his face as he leaned into the lockers with his arm propped up against them. His free hand adjusting his blue-tinted gasses just before he spoke, moving the hand down to his hip.

"Hey Rain."

Rain sighed softly as she looked at Leo, showing no emotion. "Hi Leo."

Leo eyed her up and down as he spoke. "Sooo uh… couldn't help but notice you come around here a lot…."

"This is where my locker is."

Leo laughed nervously before he spoke again. "Well, I was just wondering… what are you doing this weekend?"

"You know we're all meeting up at the house this weekend Leo."

Leo grinned and put a finger under Rain's chin. "Maybe you and I could uh… well, you know… get some alone time together?"

Rain looked Leo dead in the eyes and simply replied. "It's never going to happen Leo."

Leo's jaw dropped as the words left Rains mouth. Finn let out a loud cough behind Rain, getting Leo's attention. Leo looked past Rain and saw Finn's look over his face. Leo laughed and stepped over to his friend, patting him on the shoulder.

"Finn! Old buddy, how long have you been standing there?"

Finn glared into Leo, his arms crossed over his chest. "The whole time Leo."

Leo stopped patting Finn's shoulder and replied with a quick "Oh."

Finn slapped his friends hand away and pointed a finger into Leo's face. "Dude, why do you keep going for my sister?! In front of me no less!"

Leo's hands came in front of his body, spread open as he explained himself. "She's the only girl I can't ever get with! I mean come on! Look at me! I'm handsome, awesome with my magic, smart, did I mention that I'm handsome?"

Finn didn't look amused as his best friend spoke. "It doesn't change the fact that you keep going after Rain. Can't you take a hint? She's not interested in you."

Leo grinned and pointed back at Finn. "I could say the same to you my friend."

Finn shut his mouth almost immediately. Leo had hit the nail on the head. Finn knew he was always trying to get Lily's attention almost every time they were together, but she was never interested in him, no matter what he did. Leo brought his hands back up to his sides, holding them out as he spoke once more.

"Besides, who's gonna be there for the beautiful Rain when other guys come asking for her hand? Certainly not you. You still havin' trouble with your magic I bet? I on the other hand am perfectly capable of keeping my gorgeous Rain safe from other guys. Right my lovely Rain?" Leo turned around as he asked Rain for reassurance only to see her already gone from her locker. Leo's face turned to fear and shock. He quickly turned back around and grabbed Finn's shoulders.

"Why didn't you tell me she left already?!"

"She left as soon as you started talking to me, idiot."

Leo groaned as he gripped his short blonde hair, his head moving back slightly. "I can't believe she left me here!"

Finn started growing angry at Leo as he basically was crying over spilled milk. "Will you shut up! You're not dating, and you won't ever date my sister so just drop it!"

Leo pointed at Finn, fake tears in his eyes. "You know nothing of love sir! Your eyes are clouded and only have sights for dragon! A devilish, self-centered, stupid dragon girl!" Finn's solid blue eyes looked just past Leo for a second before returning back to his friend. Leo kept his finger pointed at Finn as he spoke with confidence still. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

Lily cleared her throat, waiting for Leo to turn around and face her like a man. Leo kept his gaze fixed on Finn. "I have to get to my last class…. But we'll continue this conversation later." The blonde haired boy quickly turned and ran to his next class, avoiding Lily's hard glare as he passed her. She shook her head and smirked.

"He's still trying to get with Rain I see."

Finn scoffed softly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Part of me thinks he's just joking and doing it for fun. To annoy me more than anything. Rain is too good for him and I don't think she'll ever fall for his stupid advances. He's pretty stupid when it comes to her."

Lily giggled slightly as she stepped closer to Finn. "He could get any one of these girls to go out with him, and yet he's a complete idiot when it comes to your sister." Lily looked at Finn with a questioning smile. "So what's this I hear Leo talkin' about?"

Finn quickly looked at Lily, blushing a deep red color. "W-what are y-you talking about?"

"I heard him say, I could say the same to you. What did that mean? You into someone Finn?" Lily grinned as she asked her questions. Finn gulped and tried to avoid the question.

"I don't know what he was talking about. You know Leo. He's an idiot."

Just as Lily was about to fight back on the subject, the warning bell rang, causing Finn to jump slightly.

"Well! Gotta get to class now! See ya this weekend Lil!"

Lily watched the ice mage run past her quickly, still pondering what Leo had said to Finn.

* * *

><p>Gray sat quietly on the couch, one hand holding onto a small stack of papers, while the other held onto a lit cigarette. He read over the heading of the papers he held, going over them silently. Juvia walked into the doorway, her arms over her chest.<p>

"Gray…It's not what I want… but I feel like… it might come down to this…"

Gray set down the papers on the coffee table, putting out his cigarette at the same time. He stood and quietly went over to his wife. "We can still try. Let's just try to get through this weekend without fighting. We're going to be around everyone, and they don't need to know what's going on. So we'll all put on a smile and try to have fun. It's all we can do until all of this is settled."

Gray walked past Juvia without another word. Juvia turned her head to watch him walk out to the backyard of their house, wanting to believe in his words that they will be able to get through the weekend together as a happy family.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: so I've just gotta say that even though these characters are totally made up, I love them all so far. I can't wait to introduce the other kids! They will make their appearance either in the next chapter or the one after. Also I would like to say that I think Leo is my favorite out of all of the kids. I have a lot of stuff planned out for everyone and everything, so it's gonna be a pretty awesome story.<strong>

**I may not have a lot of GaLe, or LoLu, but I promise they are still in the story. ( so please don't ask when they are going to be in the chapters. U—U;; this is supposed to mainly be about Gruvia and the kids )**

**Anywhos! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I may add some more stuff to Finn and Leo's convo at the end there later… if I do I'll make mention of it in the next chaper, and also! You all should go check out my awesome friend MsKtK. She was working on a Fairy Tail fic called Iron Gray (still in progress) and is now working on a new FT fic called Monster. (For all you GaLe and LoLu fans, go check it out!) **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Chapter 3**

**Yay! Another chapter. So I just wanted to say that I promise to have more interaction with the grown-ups soon… I just have to get through this little part of the story before I can start the major chunk of the story line. Not saying what im writing isn't important… caz it is, but anywhos! I'm not gonna say much more, since this is a longer chapter than usual lol**

**Nyma: lol yeah… Lily is pretty stupid… but also super smart. Basically she has no common sense XD and I'm serious when I said Leo is probably going to be my favorite character. I have a lot in store for him and the rest of the gang so it should be good. :) and as for Gray being so hard on Finn… well… there's a reason, but I'm not gonna say for now :P **

**RadRadha04: I'm actually not taking any more characters for this story. I made up all of the kids myself so I wasn't planning on adding anymore OC. ^^;; and yes that was the point I wanted to make with Leo lol.**

**Mgaa: Yeah, I know stories with made up kids doesn't do so well most of the time, so that's why I decided to write this last story for fun mostly. And it's cool if you just read it for Gruvia's situation, but like I said, it's better than the other option I was going to have happen lol**

* * *

><p>The last bell of the school day rang loudly in Lily's ears as she rushed for the door, wanting to get to Finn as quickly as possible before he left for the bus. She knew something was up with him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Lily wasted no time in getting down to the front of the school, standing on a bench and smelling the air around her. Finn had a unique scent that she could pick out from the crowd quite easily. The smell was like a cool ocean, a mixture of scents from his parents. Ice and water. Sure Chrono smelled like the ocean too, but for some reason, Finn's scent differed from Chrono.<p>

Lily closed her eyes as the students just passed her by, not seeming to care what she was doing. She was popular from being in the band, and the fact that she was super smart in all of her classes, everyone knew of her. But no one really knew her as a person besides those closest to her. She didn't have any other friends, she didn't need them. With her busy schedule, and her fondness for books and magic, Lily always thought trying to make friends outside of her family ones, seemed almost…pointless. The fact that no one was paying attention to her made it easier to concentrate. She listened for Finn's voice, sniffed the air, toning out everyone but his voice.

She finally was able to make him out from the large crowd. Lily opened her hazel eyes and looked in the direction her ears picked up the sound of his voice. He was walking beside his sister and Leo. She could hear them talking about hanging out later, but as usual, Finn turned Leo down, telling him he had to practice his magic with his father and Rain. Lily had watched Finn and Rain practice only one time. It was of course when they were younger, and Finn wanted to show off what he had learned to his friends so far. Needless to say, it didn't go that well.

Throughout the years, Lily watched Finn and his magic. Neither of them really growing. Everyone around Finn was excelling at such a high rate, and yet, he was left behind. Lily never could relate to her friend, seeing how she was already using her dragon slayer senses at the age of four. But she could sense he had hidden potential inside of him, lying dormant until the day would come and he could unlock his true magic powers.

Lily jumped down from the bench, about to head in the direction Finn and the others were when a sudden hand grabbed her firmly by the arm, pulling her back into a large body. Lily scowled as she turned to face the person behind her. Before any words left her mouth, warm lips were upon hers. Hazel eyes widened as Chrono plunged his tongue into Lily's mouth. The young girl pushed her boyfriend back forcefully, growling in frustration.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Chrono?!"

The large ice mage pulled Lily back into his own body before he spoke. "I was just tryin' to get some sweet sugar from my baby."

Lily pushed against his body, her head turning back around, catching a glimpse of Finn who was getting closer to his bus. "Let me go you big oaf! I was busy doin' something if you couldn't tell!"

Chrono's grip held fast as Lily struggled to break free from his arms. "What could be more important than me?"

Lily looked back and looked at Chrono, holding up her hand and counting on her fingers as she listed off reasons. "Breathing, eating, my family, my magic, me keeping my grades up, the band, prom, college, oh and the friends I was looking for. Take your pick."

Chrono scoffed and grinned down at Lily. "None of that stuff could be more important than me. Besides you don't have any other friends besides that wimp of a kid….what's his name?"

Lily growled loudly and forcefully shoved Chrono back, breaking his arm lock around her body. "His name is Finn! And don't you ever say that he isn't important ever again!"

Chrono rolled his eyes, stepping closer to Lily once more. "Whatever… what were you doing up on the bench anyways?"

"I was tryin' to sniff him out so I could talk to him before he got onto the bus. Your dumbass ruined everything by stopping me."

"Why can't you be like a normal human being and use your phone to find him? You always have to be like your father… using your dragon senses…."

Lily quickly grabbed Chrono's shirt, pulling him down close to her face. Anger could be heard in her voice as she slowly spoke. "Don't ever tell me I'm like my father… I'm nothing like him."

Chrono stood back up straight, brushing away Lily's hand and ignoring her hard stare. "Whatever… just don't forget we've got band practice tonight."

Lily turned her head to see where Finn was at the moment, frowning as she saw him getting onto his bus, saying goodbye to Leo. "Yeah… I'll be there." Lily let out a soft sigh as she too headed for her own bus.

* * *

><p>Leo stepped off the bus, an eyebrow raised as he spoke. "So… why were you sniffing around for Finn again?"<p>

Lily sighed in aggravation. "For the hundredth time, I wanted to find Finn so I could talk to him before he got on the bus!"

"Ok… but you have a cell phone, right? Why couldn't you just use that?"

Lily put her hands on her hips as they walked down the sidewalk. "Why do all you guys think alike?!" Her voice changed to a deeper tone, imitating Chrono. "Why can't you be like a normal human being and use your phone to find him?"

Leo suddenly burst into laughter at Lily's imitation. "That was the worst imitation I've ever heard! Must be because you're part dragon and can't do things a normal person can!"

Lily's eyes burned into Leo as he continued to laugh in front of her. She turned around to face her younger brother who had his nose in his book as usual. Gaje wasn't one to get involved with too many people or things for that matter. His appearance was like looking at Gajeel himself, only with shorter hair. Sure it still stuck out in the back, but his personality was more like Levy's. Quiet, smart, and quite the bookworm, much like his mother when she was younger. He too practiced solid script magic like Lily and Levy. Even though he was only thirteen, he was in classes at a higher level than most junior high students.

"Gaje! I'm like a normal human being right?!" Lily asked angrily.

Without looking up from his book, Gaje spoke to his older sister. "In appearance, yes you are normal, but the rate at which you have developed your magic over the years, suggests you are part of a special, and possibly superior species."

Lily growled as Leo laughed out loud even harder. "You're absolutely no help to me Gaje!" The young boy shrugged his shoulders as he continued walking. Lily's eyes darted back towards Leo.

"Why do you even have to get off at the same bus stop as us, Leo? You know there's a closer stop to your house…"

Leo grinned as he looked back at Lily. "That's true… but since we live close to each other, there's one person who I love to see every day, so the little extra walk isn't so bad."

Lily looked at Leo's smug grin over his face, not realizing what he had meant by that until she heard her little sister rushing towards them, excitement in her voice. Leviana was eight years old, but still acted quite young for her age. She looked exactly like Levy in every way. The blue, wild hair, hazel eyes, and light skin.

"Leo!" The blonde haired boy turned with open arms, only to catch the small girl almost immediately, hugging her tight as she giggled. Leo turned back around to face Lily as he hugged Leviana, a grin still across his face as he watched her whole body burn in anger. Leviana pushed against him slightly, smiling at Leo as he held her. "Leo! Guess what we did in class today!"

Leo laughed slightly. "What did you do?"

Leviana grabbed Leo's blue-tinted glasses from his head and placed them over her own eyes. "We had to make up a story, and I did a fantasy one. I was the princess and you and Finn were my princes who had to come rescue me." The small girl looked around and began to pout. "Hey! Where's Finn! I wanted to tell Finn too!"

Leo set the small girl down, kneeling down to get eye level with her. "Finn had to go home and practice his magic. Have you been a good girl and practiced your magic today?"

Leviana put her hands behind her back and turned her body slightly, smiling and blushing slightly at Leo as she shook her head no. Leo smiled sweetly at the young girl. "You better get home and practice then. It's very important to keep up with your magic. Especially dragon slayer magic."

Leviana grinned from ear to ear as she brought her hands to the front of her body. "But daddy taught me something new and I'm really good at it! Wanna see?!" Leo nodded towards the girl and took a step back. Leviana held out one of her arms, concentrating on just that one arm intently. She stared hard at it, biting her bottom lip as she clenched her fist tightly. A moment later, from her elbow to her hand, turned into a metal club with little iron studs formed around the top of the iron club. The girl smiled and laughed, holding her arm up to Leo. "See?! See?! I did it!"

Leo clapped and smiled. "That's awesome Leviana! You're magic is pretty cool."

Leviana turned her arm back to normal as it went behind her once more. Her cheeks grew red as she turned her body back and forth. "Yeah… but I like your magic the most. It's so pretty."

Leo patted the girls blue hair, looking at Lily. "Well, I better get home myself. I have to practice my own magic." Lily walked up to Leo, getting her face as close as she could to his, her hazel eyes burning into his olive-green ones.

"That's my sister! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm simply talking to her is all… why are you jealous that she's super cute and adorable, and then there's you. The complete opposite of what cute—"

Leo stopped and took a step back as Lily raised a hand beside her face, threatening Leo with her solid script magic. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, Leviana, that's my cue. I better get goin', can I have my sunglasses back?"

Leviana stuck out her bottom lip as she moaned in disappointment, handing Leo his glasses back. He placed them on top of his head over his blonde hair as he turned and walked down the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets as he hummed to himself.

Leviana thrust her hand up in the air and waved. "Bye Leo! I love you! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Leo brought a hand up and waved back as he continued to walk away, not bothering to look back at the small child and her siblings. Leviana sighed softly and brought her hands to her cheeks.

"He's so dreamy…"

Lily glared down at her sister as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Something's wrong with you Leviana… Leo is not dreamy by any means."

Leviana put her hands to her hips and looked up at her sister. "That's caz you don't like him! I'm gonna marry Leo and Finn one day! You wait and see!"

Lily leaned over and started bickering with her sister. "You can't marry two guys, Leviana! That's stupid and not to mention, you can't marry Leo of all people!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I said so!"

"Mommy said you're not the boss of me!"

"Yeah well mom's not here, so right now I am. So turn your little butt around and head home."

Leviana turned to her brother who still was reading his book quietly. "Gaajee…. Lily's being mean to me…."

Gaje ignored the two as he walked past them. Leviana stomped her foot down as she watched her brother walk by them. "Gaje you're so mean! I'm telling mommy on both of you!"

Lily growled. "Ugh, you're so annoying! Let's just go home!" Lily grabbed Levianas' hand and pulled the pouty girl along back to their house that was nearby.

* * *

><p>Lily opened the front door to their house, letting Leviana run past her, giggling as she ran into the living room. Gaje followed in behind Lily and shut the door behind him.<p>

"We're home!" Leviana called out as she jumped up onto the couch.

Levy came out from the kitchen, a smile over her face. "How was school?"

Lily walked past her and headed straight for the fridge, opening it and grabbing a water bottle. "It was ok."

Levy turned her head to her oldest daughter. "Just ok? Anything interesting happen in your classes?"

Lily took a sip of water as she shrugged her shoulders. "Not really."

Levy turned her attention to Gaje who sat down at the table with an open book. "What about you Gaje?"

"School was fine, mom."

Leviana moved to the arm of the couch, jumping up and down on her knees as she held onto the fabric. "Mommy! Mommy! I got to see Leo! I wanted to see Finn too but Leo said he had to go straight home."

Levy smiled and laughed lightly. "Oh Lily, your father was looking for you. He's upstairs sweetie."

Lily walked into the living room and rummaged through her bag. "I'll have to talk to him later. I've got band practice tonight. I'm not going to be back til late."

Levy's smile faded slightly as she watched Lily. "Lily… it won't take you long to talk to your father. Besides he's tuning up your instruments for you. If I were you, I'd go see him before you left."

Lily rolled her eyes as she huffed lightly. As she walked past Leviana on the couch, the young girl snickered at Lily. The dark haired girl snapped her head towards her younger sister, sending a death glare as she headed up the stairs. She could hear her father from down stairs, he was tuning one of her guitars as he talked to Pantherlily. She hadn't talked to Gajeel since the day before because of a fight they had gotten into. Her heart beat steady in her chest as she walked.

'_Wonder what he's gonna bitch about this time…'_

As Lily neared the room, she kept her cool as she heard her father complaining about how little he gets to see Lily anymore. The young girl rolled her eyes and ignored what she just heard as she walked into the room with her arms over her chest. She saw Gajeel look up from the guitar he was holding, a serious look on his face. Pantherlily smiled, happy to see the girl he helped raise over the years.

"So what do you want?"

Gajeel stood up and set down the guitar, walking over to his daughter. "First off, little girl, you can change that attitude and put your arms down." Gajeel said sternly as he folded his arms over his chest. Lily scoffed as she watched her father.

"You just put your arms over your chest! Why do I have to put my arms down?"

Gajeel growled, trying not to raise his voice. "Look kiddo, I just want to talk. I'm not here to fight with ya." Lily stared back up into Gajeel's' crimson eyes, unafraid of the anger that could build at any moment in that man's eyes. Her own eyes shifted away from him as she let her arms down at her sides. "Now then… I wanted to talk to you about the other day."

Lily quickly answered him back with a soft tone. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Lily."

Lily snapped her head back towards Gajeel, clenching her fists at her sides. "I've been keeping my grades up, like you've told me, I'm making time for everyone, so I'm not quitting the band! End of story!"

Gajeel growled as he towered over his daughter. "I just think it's going to cause you more trouble in the future! You need to quit that awful band now, and focus on your magic and were you want to go to college. Time is ticking Lily, you don't have time to mess around with this stuff."

"You mean mess around with Chrono…"

"That's not what I said."

"Yeah but it's what you meant to say. I'm not stupid dad. And I'm not your little girl anymore. I'm eighteen."

"Yeah? And guess what, _little girl_, you still live under _my_ roof."

Lily gritted her teeth, turning on her heel and rushing back downstairs. Gajeel was quick to follow her, yelling behind her the whole way down.

"You need to stop seeing that boy, Lily! I don't care what age you are! You need to stay focused on other matters." Gajeel looked towards Gaje and pointed at him. "Why can't you be more like your brother and stick to books and your studies?!"

Lily turned her head and shouted back. "You want me to be like how I used to be when I was a little girl!"

"Exactly! Go back to that! And you!" Gajeel turned his attention back to Gaje who looked up from his book, his crimson eyes staring blankly at his father. "You need to go get laid! Go out and meet some girls!"

"Gajeel! He's only thirteen!" Levy protested.

"That's why I'm tellin' him to go out and get a girlfriend!"

Gaje closed his book and slowly walked past everyone. "I'll be in my room, finishing my book if you need me."

Gajeel threw his arms up in the air, letting them fall back down to his sides. "Great, another one that doesn't want to listen to me!"

Leviana jumped up and held her hand up in the air excitedly. "What about me daddy?"

Gajeel turned to her and pointed. "And you! Don't you ever get a boyfriend! You are to listen to me for the rest of your life! Got it?"

Leviana giggled and nodded her head quickly. Lily shook her head as she rolled her eyes, heading straight for the front door. She picked up her bag as she neared the door, opening it quickly and slamming it behind her.

Gajeel sighed as he ran his hand over his face. Pantherlily slowly flew over to Gajeel, putting a paw over the iron dragon slayers shoulder.

"Do you want me to go talk to her Gajeel?"

Gajeel groaned. "What happened to her? She used to listen to me…now she's just doing anything and everything to try to piss me off. And it's working!"

Pantherlily shrugged his shoulders as he held his paws out at his sides.

Levy walked over to Gajeel, putting a hand over his chest as she looked up at him. "She's eighteen Gajeel. Not every child is going to listen to their parents whenever we want them too. She needs to make her own choices and mistakes and learn from them."

Gajeel grumbled to himself as he looked away from Levy's soft and caring eyes.

"I'll listen to you forever daddy!" Leviana chimed in. Gajeel rolled his eyes as he let out a puff of air.

"That's what the first one said too…" Levy giggled as she wrapped her arms around Gajeel, embracing him as he continued to get lost in this grumbling.

* * *

><p>Leo walked into his own house, taking his key out from the lock. He glanced around at the empty house, not a sound to be heard. His eyes caught a glimpse of a piece of paper on the nearby table. Leo walked over and read it over. He sighed softly and placed the paper back down on the table.<p>

"Well… looks like I'm on my own for dinner til the weekend…" Leo took out his phone and sent a text to Finn, letting him know his parents had already set out for the weekend getaway house. Finn quickly responded Leo, letting him know he might take his offer on staying at his house for the night. Leo grinned and replied back with a question to what was going on with Finn. Two words was all Finn had to say to Leo. My dad.

* * *

><p>Finn breathed heavily as he held himself up from the ground with his arms. Rain was sitting beside him, her arms behind her as she too panted slightly, trying to catch her breath. Gray stood a small distance in front of the two, arms at his sides, fists clenched tightly.<p>

"Are you going to be able to keep up today, Finn?" Finn looked up at his father, desperate to make his father proud, wanting to be able to use his magic. "I warned you today's lesson was going to be tough."

"I can… do it…" Finn stood up slowly, taking his maker stance, still panting heavily.

"If you can't perform the simple task of creating an ice hammer, then we might as well give up for the day. Your sister has been surpassing you each day. Her magic is getting stronger and then there's you. Still stuck at the basics."

Finn's eye brows crossed as he tried to concentrate. "I'd be able to do this if you weren't so hard on me all the time…"

Gray raised his voice slightly as he spoke. "Don't blame me for your inability to learn magic! You are the one who has been lacking at practice. All you want to do is play your guitar and sing songs with your friends. You need to focus on what's important."

Finn's hands came down as he talked back to his father. "And what would you know about what's important and what's not?!"

"What did you just say?" Gray said furiously.

Finn looked away, clearly backing down from the vocal fight. "Nothing…"

Gray walked up to Finn, stopping beside him for a moment. "We're done for today…."

Finn clenched his fists as he spoke. "I can do it."

Gray glanced over at Finn. "No. You can't. Not when your head is stuck in the clouds." The ice mage left Finn and Rain, walking back into the house. Finn sat down forcefully, his head hung down as he stared at his hands.

"He expects me to get everything right away. He has to learn that not everyone is the same when it comes to learning magic…." Finn looked over to his sister as she sat nearby him silently. "What do you think Rain?" The girl said nothing as she looked back at her brother. Finn looked back into her eyes. She looked so numb, like nothing he could ever do could bring a smile back to her face. He wished he could snap his fingers and make her happy again. He looked away and coughed slightly. "Leo said we could stay at his house if we wanted…. His parents are gone already. You interested in spending the night over there?"

Rain stood up and walked into the house without a word to Finn. Finn shook his head slightly and stood up himself. "That'll be a no…." Finn looked around, searching for his father through the windows of the house. He let out a soft breath and took a stance. He spread his feet apart, just wider than his shoulder width. His hands came in front of him, one hand open as the other was clenched tightly, pressed up against the open palm. Finn closed his eyes lightly, breathing in and out slowly through his mouth. He could feel the coolness throughout his body beginning to form. Finn slowly drew his hands back towards his body, making an icy mist form around his hands. The ice mage could feel magic stirring inside of his body, wanting so badly to be released from his grasp. Finn's solid blue eyes opened slowly as his icy breath left his mouth. Finn fixed his eyes straight ahead as he pushed his arms outward once more, forming an ice shield in front of him. A smile began to form across his lips as he watched his creation grow larger with each second.

"You're stance is all wrong and your shield is still too weak."

Finn's ice shield disappeared just as quickly as it went up, revealing Gray standing before him now. He looked down on Finn as he stared at his son. Finn threw his arms up in the air, letting them fall down at his sides.

"I don't know what more I can do to please you, dad."

"You can start by improving your magic." Gray said coolly. Finn could feel the dagger that Gray had shot to him from the tone of his voice.

"I've been practicing the same stuff since I was younger. Something is clearly not clicking for me." Finn looked down as he clenched his fists tight. "Maybe I was never meant to become and ice wizard…"

Gray said nothing as he looked at Finn. Finn glanced up slightly at the man across from him. If disappointment had a face, his father clearly had it. Gray let out a sigh and tossed a small pamphlet towards Finn. The young boy picked it up and looked it over.

"Rune Knights Academy?" Finn looked from the paper to his father, confusion in his face. "What is this?"

"If you can't improve your magic by the end of your senior year, your mother and I are sending you there."

"So I don't get any say in where I want to go for college?" Finn argued back.

Gray turned and shoved his hands into his pockets. "If you can prove to me that your magic has improved by the end of your senior year, then you can choose where you go."

Finn stepped forward, his anger growing quickly inside of him. "I'm going to surpass you one day! And as soon as I'm eighteen, I'm leaving his hell hole of a house!"

Gray stopped walking for a split second, smirking slightly. "If that day ever comes, I will be able to truly call you my son. As of right now, you're nothing but a failure."

Finn's eyes widened as he watched his father go back into the house without another word. Finn growled angrily, forming a fist and thrusting it out forward, wanting so badly to be able to send ice spikes at the wooden fence across the yard. When nothing left his body, Finn's head hung down, his teeth clenching tightly.

"I am your son… I'm not a failure…" The boy could feel a small tear escape the corner of his eye as it rolled down his cheek. "I'm not…."

* * *

><p>Lily gripped the back of Chrono's head as she pushed her tongue further into his mouth. She could feel his hands exploring her body as they kissed madly. Chrono broke the kiss to trail kisses down her neck as his hand slowly found its way under Lily's shirt. The girl sighed softly, shaking her head as Chrono pushed himself against her body as she leaned up against his car.<p>

"Chrono… stop…"

"Come on Lil… we've been together for almost two years…" The ice mage's hand moved quickly up her side to the back of her bra, unhooking it easily. Lily was getting lost in the moment as she felt his hands come around to the front and cup her chest lightly.

"We can't… I have homework… and it's so late…"

Chrono forced his lips upon Lily's once more before she could speak again. He began to rock his body into hers softly as his hand teased her under her shirt. Lily broke the kiss as she pushed against him lightly.

"Stop… please…"

Chrono let out a deep sigh as he stopped everything. His hand left her shirt and moved to the car, supporting his weight as he looked at Lily. "Why won't you let me go any farther than this?"

Lily grinned as she pulled her shirt down. "Caz'… I want to get through college before I start thinking about sex."

Chrono groaned as he pressed himself back into her. His head leaned in close to her ear. "And what am I supposed to do with this?"

Lily pushed him away and grabbed his hand, placing it over Chrono's pants in between his legs. "I'm sure you'll figure it out." Lily giggled as she moved around Chrono's form, heading for her front door. Chrono turned his head slightly, a slightly smile over his face as he called back to her.

"So you're just going to leave me with this? Again?"

Lily turned around as she walked backwards. "Don't start these things when you know I'm not going to help finish them." Chrono watched her wave a hand towards him as she opened her front door, closing it quietly behind her. The boy shook his head and went over to the driver's side of his car, getting in and slamming his door shut.

Lily waited a moment at the front door, listening for any movements from upstairs. Lily grinned as she headed to her room, glad no one heard her come home so late. She quickly reached her room, closing the door behind her quietly. She knew Pantherlily was fast asleep on her bed, as usual, so she was sure to be extra quiet. She went straight to her desk, turning on the small lamp that rested on top of it. Lily sat down in her chair and sighed as she opened up her history book and notebook. She picked up her pen and began to read with the small amount of light the lamp provided. It didn't take long before Lily could feel her eyelids becoming heavy as she read.

'_I've gotta stay awake… I need to get this done. Then I can get some sleep.'_

An hour went by as Lily was finishing up her homework. She stared at the book and then jotted something down in her notebook. Her hand held her head up as she started to fall asleep, wanting so badly to be able to finish her homework. Lily glanced over at the clock and saw that it read 3 o' clock in the morning.

"Great… I only have three more hours before I have to get up… maybe if I just close my eyes for a second…" She said with a yawn. Lily set her pen down, along with her head on top of her arms. Her hazel eyes closing quickly as sleep claimed her.

Pantherlily awoke and rubbed his eye with a paw, wondering what the small light on the desk was for. His eyes caught the sight of Lily sleeping at her desk across the room. The small exceed walked over to her and jumped up onto the desk.

"Lily?" Pantherlily asked quietly. The young girl was out cold and didn't wake up to his touch. Pantherlily grinned as he flew back over to her bed, gathering up a blanket and taking it back over to Lily. The exceed placed the blanket around Lily's shoulders, spreading it over as much of her body as he could. Pantherlily moved to the front of Lily and patted her dark hair lightly. "No matter how much you grow, I will still be here for you Lily. Watching over you."

Lily mumbled softly in her sleep, making Pantherlily smile at her. The exceed looked down at the open history book and notebook, rubbing his chin with his paw as he thought. "Well you were almost done… perhaps I can finish this up for you…" Pantherlily began to read over the book as he picked up the pen Lily had been using, writing down the rest of her homework in her notebook for the girl sleeping at the desk.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I may have the next chapter up tomorrow, since I have a few days off work, I might even be able to write a bit more this weekend ^.^ excitement!<strong>

**I hope this chapter made sense…. I kinda half read it over… well I read it over, just read one half days ago, then after I finished writing it, I read the section I just wrote…. Crossing my fingers it all flows together caz atm I'm too lazy to go back and read the whole thing XD man I'm just the worst haha. Anywhos! Hope you all enjoyed it, the next chapter should be a pretty funny one so please keep reading and reviewing! Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Chapter 4**

**Ok so super sorry for the late update! I got into that 'I don't feel like writing anything' funk. :\ which sucked caz I was almost finished with the chapter. It would have been longer, but I wanted to split it up so chapter 5 has a good chunk already written. Yay! Lol anywhos, here's chapter 4. I'm not going to make any promises, but I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by the end of the night today! (I hope I caught all of the errors in here.. i reread it over but sometimes you still end up missing something lol )  
><strong>

**RadRadha04: I know I kinda was getting teary eyed when I wrote that part in the chapter.**

**Babybubbles135: lol thanks! ^.^ I love it too so far. Trust me I want to hug Finn anytime I write him caz he's so cute and I feel bad for writing all of his torment and father issues, same with Rain. I feel like I love all of the kids that I'm writing lol all I can say is keep reading and find out what happens :) could be good…. Or….. could be bad… * insert evil laugh ***

* * *

><p>As the days went by, Finn avoided his father entirely, staying at Leo's house until the weekend rolled around. Leo adjusted his backpack on his shoulders as he stood next to Finn. He looked to his friend, wondering what was going through his mind at the moment.<p>

"You sure you didn't want to ride with Lily's family? I mean we were right there… could have just climbed into the van. I'm sure her parents wouldn't have minded."

Finn breathed in slowly as he stood staring at the front door to his house. "Yeah… I mean I can't keep running away from my problems, now can I?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders, looking away silently. A moment later a smirk came over his face as he rubbed his chin evilly. "Heh, heh…. At least this means now I can be closer to Rain for the next few hours."

Finn turned to face his friend. His eye brows level as he looked at Leo. "Seriously dude? Again with my sister?"

"What?! I'm just sayin'…. She probably won't talk to me this whole weekend, so I've gotta make my move somehow! What better chance than in the car… sitting next to her… accidently touching her soft, warm skin…"

Finn's eyes grew angry as he raised a fist. "And how would you know how her skin felt?"

Leo crossed his arms over his chest, confidence glowing off of the young boy. "Just a hunch I have. And now I can test that theory while we are in the car!"

Finn was boiling with anger, wanting so badly to knock his friend into next week for talking about his sister like that. A familiar voice caused both boys to turn around and face the person behind them.

"Ah, there you are Finn. And Leo, what a surprise." Juvia said kindly as she unlocked the vehicle they were going to take with them to the weekend house. Juvia set down her bags and walked over to Finn, placing a warm hand over the boys' cheek gently. "Is everything alright Finn? I was starting to get worried that you weren't going to join us this weekend."

Finn half smiled as he spoke. "Yeah I'm fine mom…. I just wanted to get away from dad for a couple days. I wanted a break from training and Leo said I could spend a night or two at his place. I'm sorry that I worried you."

Juvia smile sweetly at her son. "That's alright. I know your father pushes you very hard when it comes to training Finn… but he just wants you to succeed. He wants you to grow stronger—"

Finn's solid blue eyes looked down, away from his mother. His smile completely faded. "Yeah well he as a funny way of showing it…."

Juvia sighed softly as she continued to smile. "Why don't you go get your sister? She should be in her room, finishing up packing."

Leo quickly interrupted mother and son, holding an arm up in the air. "I'll go get her! Finn you can help your parents load up the car!"

Finn sent Leo a glare as the blonde haired boy smirked and ran inside of the house in search of Rain. Just as Leo passed through the door, Gray stepped outside, carrying a large cooler along with a duffle bag over his shoulders. His eyes matched his sons for a moment. The tension was thick between the two as they silently stood next to their family van. Juvia stepped towards Gray and began to take the bag from his shoulders.

"Here, let me get this. Finn, can you go grab the other cooler?"

Finn kept his eyes on his father as he stepped for the front door. "Yeah mom."

As soon as Finn was out of sight, Gray let out a long breath. Juvia watched him as he silently began to load the back of the vehicle up.

"You should try to talk to him Gray. He needs to know that you really do care for him."

Gray didn't respond to his wife, knowing full well she was right, as usual. His thoughts from the other night kept him silent. He wished he was able to speak his true feelings towards his son, but he knew it was pointless at the moment. What he said to Finn, was unforgettable, for the both of them. Gray honestly didn't know what he was thinking at that time when he called his son nothing but a failure. Was he just trying to push Finn further? Was he trying to get him to connect to his magic more emotionally? Why did he say those hurtful things? Deep down, Gray knew the answer all too well, he just didn't want to admit it to himself or anyone else.

"I'll talk to him later." Gray glanced over at Juvia's worried face as she handed him the duffle bag. He let out another breath before he spoke. "Don't worry about it… I'm going to talk to him. I just think right now we both need some space."

* * *

><p>Leo approached Rain's room, a grin over his face as he knocked on her door frame to her room. The blonde boy stuck his head in, a cheerful tone to his voice. "Rain, are you ready to go?"<p>

Rain was folding the last bit of her clothes in her suit case quietly. "Funny… I would have thought my mother would send my brother to fetch me." She said. Leo grinned as he stepped into her room, brushing a hand through his hair and taking hold of his blue-tinted sunglasses, placing them over his eyes.

"Yes, she did want that idiot brother of yours to come get you, but I graciously volunteered to get a beautiful maiden from her prison. To help her down to the mighty steed and to help carry her bags down for her if she wished." Leo stopped just in front of her, kneeling down on one knee and holding out a hand to Rain as the other went to his chest. His olive-green eyes staring up at solid blue. "So my princess? Do you acquire assistance from your prince?"

Rain stared at Leo blankly, showing no signs of amusement. She let out a sigh as she looked away from Leo. "I'm no princess Leo. And no, I don't need your help."

Leo quickly stood, walking just past her so his back was facing Rain as he spoke. "This is unacceptable! As a man in love with such a beauty as you, my gorgeous Rain, I should be the one to burden such deeds as caring for your every whim! So please… reconsider and let me take care—"As Leo turned around, he saw not Rain, but Finn with his arms crossed over his chest, his lips closed tightly as they held back laughter. Leo's jaw dropped as he scanned the room. "Where's Rain?! She left me again?!"

"Leo, you are a true idiot." Finn said as he laughed out loud, walking the cooler out to the car. Leo chased after Finn, pushing his sunglasses back up to his head.

"That's not fair! Why didn't you stop me from acting like a fool?"

"She left as soon as you walked past her! I saw the whole thing, and to teach you a lesson, I let you make a fool of yourself."

"What lesson are you talkin' about?"

"That not every girl likes you dumbass!"

Leo stopped dead in his tracks, appalled by what he had just heard. "I'll have you know that every girl, and I mean _every_ girl wants to get with me!"

Finn turned his head over his shoulder. "You're only fourteen Leo! You don't know that every girl wants to be with you! Lily and Rain prove that on a daily basis."

Leo ran back up to Finn, holding a finger up behind his friends head. "Yes, that may be true, but Lily is a serpent so she doesn't count. Not to mention she's taken."

Finn frowned as he was once again, reminded of someone he couldn't have. The two boys made it back to the van, Finn setting down the last cooler before he stepped into the van. Rain sat in the only single seat, leaving the very back seat for the two boys. Finn could hear Leo behind him mumbling to himself and how he wished Rain would have sat in the back with him. Gray and Juvia closed up the vehicle and double checked the house to make sure they had everything. Once they knew they had everything, the two adults went back to the van and climbed in themselves.

Gray started the van and put his seat belt on, his eyes catching a glimpse of his kids in the rear-view mirror. Rain had her headphones already in her ears, playing her music as Finn placed his head in his hand, his blue eyes staring off out the window as Leo talked to him. Juvia looked at Gray once more as she held her phone in her hand.

"Gray?"

Gray looked over to Juvia and coolly responded. "I'm fine. Let the others know we're on our way."

* * *

><p>Levy picked up a bag from their small van, looking over at Leviana. "Leviana, come help us unload the car."<p>

Leviana ignored her mother as she jumped up and down excitedly, pointing at the vehicle coming their way. "But mom! Finn and Leo are here! Finn and Leo are here!" The small girl ran around in circles as she giggled and screamed excitedly. Levy sighed just as Gajeel made his way back to her. He lifted the bag onto his shoulders and took three others. "I've got this Levy. Go see if they need some help." Levy smiled and nodded as she walked over to her youngest daughter, holding onto her arm so she would stand in place instead of running out to greet Gray and Juvia's van.

Gajeel walked into the large getaway house, dropping the bags down near the couch in the living room where Lily decided to lay down on, her long, slender legs hanging off the arm, kicking back and forth slightly as she read a magazine. Gajeel frowned down at his daughter as he spoke. "Ya gonna go help your mother and the others or are you just gonna lay here all weekend?"

Without moving the magazine, Lily replied, "They have enough hands to help unload the car… I don't see how I need to go out there too. I'd probably just get in the way."

Gajeel growled softly as he clenched his fists. "Then why don't you go help your aunt in the kitchen with dinner?"

"Gaje is already helping. I think I'm good here dad."

Gajeel leaned down and grabbed the magazine from Lily's hands. The dark haired girl growled back as she lifted herself up with her arms quickly, coming face to face with her father. "I suggest you find something else to go then, little girl. I'm not letting you mope around this weekend because you're missing out on band practice."

Lily stared into her father's crimson eyes hard, wanting to burn a hole right through him with her own hazel eyes. She pushed against the couch and stormed outside, leaving Gajeel to smirk to himself. Levy walked in a moment later carrying a duffle bag from Juvia and Grays' luggage.

"What did you do this time Gajeel?" She asked as the iron dragon slayer threw the magazine back down on the couch.

"Me?! I did nothin'! All I did was tell her to go do something productive… ain't my fault she's got an attitude."

Levy shook her head as she sighed Gajeel's' name softly.

* * *

><p>Finn exited the van after Rain, taking one step out before Leviana rushed over to him, hugging his waste tightly.<p>

"Finn! I missed you!"

"Hey, Leviana. What's up?"

The small girl looked up at the ice mage with a wide smile over her face. "Did Leo tell you what we did in class the other day?"

Finn smiled and ruffled the little girls' wild, blue hair. "Yes he did. And you know I'll always be your dashing prince ready to save his princess."

"Really? You mean it?!" Said the girl as her eyes grew larger.

Finn nodded as he smiled down at her. Leo put a hand to his mouth, whispering softly into Finn's ear. "Liar, Liar pants on fire…"

Finn's eyes shot open as a chill ran down his spine. He knew exactly what had meant by that. Lily crossed her arms and smirked as she watched the three younger kids. "Who's a liar?"

Finn waved his arms around his front side nervously as he looked to Lily. "Uh- no one! Leo is just being an idiot. As usual. Right Leo?" Finn asked with a glare. Leo snickered as he got out of the van himself.

"Leo! Finn! You guys gotta come check out our room! Auntie Lu set it up for us!" Leviana pulled on Finn's arm lightly, tugging him towards the house. "You, Leo and I get to sleep together!"

Lily punched her younger sister in the head with her fist lightly, causing the younger girl to let Finn go to rub her own head. "Idiot… the boys are sleeping in a different room." Leviana stuck her tongue out to Lily as she ran past her older sister. Lily sighed as she looked back to Finn and Leo. "Leo you're sharing a room with Gaje. Rain and Leviana are sleeping in the same room."

Finn's heart began to pound in his chest. '_Does… does this mean.. Lily and I are….'_

Lily was quick to add in the last bit of her sentence. "Don't worry Finn, you and I have our own rooms. Dad and Uncle Loke ended up making some home improvements over the past few weeks. The rooms are smaller, but at least we don't have to share a room with the younger kids." She said with a smile. Finn felt his heart slow down, back to a steady pace. "Want me to help take some stuff up there?"

Finn looked at his bag and then to Lily. "Um…"

Lily put her hands on her hips and leaned to one side. "Look, you'd be helping me out, so my dad will get off my case. He thinks I'm not going to be helpin' around here this weekend."

Finn shrugged his shoulders and half smiled. "Alright." Lily smiled as she walked over to the van to grab another small bag. She led Finn into the large house and up the stairs to their rooms. She entered a small room and set down his bag.

"Well, this is your side."

Finn set down his duffle bag on the bed and looked at her confusingly. "What do you mean by my side?"

Lily pointed to what would be a wall in between the two rooms. Instead it was just a large sheet separating the two from each other. Finn pointed at the sheet and blushed madly. "What the hell is that?! And what are they thinking starting a project they couldn't finish before we got here?!"

Lily giggled and patted Finns' shoulder. "Don't be such a worry wart! Geez Finn. You never had a problem sharing a room with me when we were younger. Besides it's not like its see through or anything."

Finn sat down on his bed and sighed, letting his head hang down. '_Yeah but that still doesn't help the situation… I swear someone's doing this on purpose….'_

Lily put a soft hand on Finns shoulder, leaning in close to him. Finn jumped slightly at the sudden touch, looking up into hazel eyes staring back at him. Lily stared hard into his solid blue eyes. Finn could feel himself become nervous under her gaze.

"Wh-what?"

"You weren't planning on doing anything… _bad_… were you Finn? I mean takin' care of yourself would prove harder when you only have a sheet separating yourself from another person…."

Finn blushed a darker shade of red, clenching his fists at his sides. "I wasn't planning on doing _anything_ like that Lil!"

Lily laughed heartedly as she stood up straight. "I'm sorry, I just had to ask that. Your heartbeat was pretty fast like you've been caught thinkin' naughty thoughts. I had to pull your leg a bit."

"You're so mean…"

Lily hugged her friend tightly, planting a light kiss on his cheek. "It's only caz I like ya Finn."

Finn sat there speechless with burning cheeks. He felt her soft and warm lips touch his cool skin, making him want more, but knowing it wasn't ever possible.

"Now let's get back downstairs. We still need to help bring in those coolers you guys brought right?"

Finn shook his head to snap back into reality. "Uh, yeah…"

Lily smiled, showing off her fangs slightly. "So let's go!" Finn watched her leave the room, quickly following her a minute later.

* * *

><p>Everyone had settled in to the large house quickly, all enjoying the dinner Loke and Lucy had prepared. They all listened to Gajeel's story as they ate of how Loke and himself have been working very hard on improving the house for all of the families staying there. As everyone tuned into Gajeel and Loke, Gray and Juvia ate quietly, off in their own world as the dragon slayer spoke. Loke looked over to his friend, noticing he had barely touched any of his food before he stood up and left the room without anyone else noticing. Loke stood up and patted Gajeel on the back.<p>

"I'm sure you can finish the story without me, Gajeel. I'll be right back." He said with a smile. Gajeel grinned and continued on with the wild story he had come up with about the renovations they had been making. Juvia watched Loke leave in the same direction as Gray had. A soft sigh and a saddened look came over her face. Lucy held up her glass towards Juvia with a smile.

"Hey! This is supposed to be a fun and happy weekend! Give us a smile Juvia!" Said the blonde with a wide smile of her own across her lips. Juvia smiled and laughed slightly.

"I'm sorry Lucy, I guess I was getting lost in my own thoughts again." The rain woman fought to keep her smile up while she listened to Gajeel's' wild tale. Rain watched her mother sit there in her sadness. Her own heart beat heavy in her chest knowing how unhappy her mother was at this moment. Rain could feel her mother's pain, and wondered how she was able to feel so much sadness. How was her mother able to keep a smile on her face when she knew she was so unhappy? How is she able to sit here amongst her friends, smiling? Rain's eyes began to swell with small tears as she watched her mother, without her realizing it.

Finn noticed his sister and the small tears beginning to form in her eyes. He coughed into his hand to get everyone's attention. "Hey, mom? Can I play something I've been working on for everyone?"

Juvia put a hand to Finn's head and rubbed it lightly. "Of course Finn."

Leviana jumped up from her chair excitedly. "Finn's gonna play something for me?!"

Lily rolled her eyes and muttered. "For all of us, stupid…"

Levy snapped her head to Lily, sending her a look. Lily shrugged her shoulders at her mother as Leviana began to pout. Lucy smiled and laughed slightly. "Why don't we all go into the other room so you can play your song for us Finn?" Lucy stood up and began to clean up the table. Levy stood up and grabbed a few plates herself, looking to Lily.

"You can help too Lil." Lily groaned as she did as she was told. Gajeel stuck out his bottom lip as he watched his oldest child help her mother without any questions asked or arguments.

"Why the hell does she give you no back-talk when you ask or tell her to do something?"

Levy winked at Gajeel and smiled. "It's different when the tables are turned huh? This is payback for when she was younger."

Gajeel smirked as he stood. Levy did have a point. When Lily was younger, she would always listen to her father without any questions asked. But now it's like she's purposely trying to make his life a living hell. As the rest of the group ventured into the other room, Finn was stopped by a light tug on his sleeve. He stopped and turned his body to face Rain. She still had small tears in the corners of her eyes as she looked at him. Finn let out a soft breath through his nose with a smile.

"I know Rain. You're welcome." Rain wrapped her arms around her brother, hugging him tightly, silently thanking him for distracting everyone before they saw her in her moment of weakness.

"Hey! I want to get in on this hug fest!" Leo proclaimed as he ran up from behind Finn, only to be stopped by Finn's hand on his face. His voice became muffled by Finn's hand. The blonde haired boy reached out with his arms, trying to circle them around the both of them. "Comf ophn Fphn! Lem meh hugf herph tff!"

"Over my dead body Leo! You don't need to hug my sister. She's fine."

Lucy, Levy, and Lily came back from the kitchen and looked at the three with confused looks over their faces.

"Everything alright out here boys?" Lucy asked as she eyed Leo suspiciously. Finn let Leo go quickly, as the blonde boy rubbed the back of his head, closing his eyes gently as he smiled.

"Everything's fine mom! I was just uh… getting this lazy bum into the other room! I mean the nerve of some people… saying they want to play something for the whole family and then taking forever to get to the other room, geez Finn. Way to keep your audience waiting."

Lucy shook her head as she half smiled at her son. "Something tells me you're not telling the truth, Leo."

Lily put her hands on her hips and smirked. "Yeah, Auntie Lu… he does look like he was up to something."

Leo stuck his tongue out to Lily and ran to the other room to join the others, the rest following Leo into the other room as they all laughed lightly at the young boy. Everyone took a seat on the furniture surrounding a single chair in the middle of the living room. Finn picked up his acoustic guitar and sat down in the single chair, breathing in a breath of air before he began to play his new song.

Gray closed his eyes lightly as he listened to his son play his song. He was standing in the back of the room, his hands in his pockets, and his head hung down slightly with Loke at his side. The orange haired mage watched Finn play his guitar with such ease just like his father would.

"He's getting better every time I hear him." Loke said as he watched the young boy play. Gray said nothing as he continued to listen. "So are you going to talk to him? I mean… you could just tell him everything you just told me. It's not that hard to say what you're really feeling Gray."

"That's easy for you to say… your son is good at using his magic, and from what I hear, the girls as well."

Loke put a hand to the back of his head, laughing lightly. "Yeah, he does seem to have girls flocking to him at such a young age… and he is doing pretty well with his magic. But he can't seem to get the hang of anything musical. He just doesn't have that skill set like the rest of the kids." Loke smile as he looked back over to Finn. "You're lucky your son inherited your skills."

Gray opened his eyes and looked towards his son. "He didn't get all of them Loke. And the one I wished he got, is the one he lacks the most in."

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><p><strong>AN: The next chapter should be pretty funny and have some goodies thrown in :)<strong>

**Please be sure to review, if you wouldn't mind! I would like to know what you guys think about everything and anything with the story! ^_^ Thank you to those who do review and everyone who reads this story so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Chapter 5**

**Definitely full of laughs this one. Lol I honestly feel so bad for Finn. He's got it pretty rough. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I do :) **

**Nyma: Haha, yeah you don't get to find out what Gray says til later :P I'm just that evil… mwhaha! For now, enjoy a few laughs from this chapter!**

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><p>Finn opened the door to the newly built bathroom Gajeel and Loke had been working on over the past few weeks. His jaw dropped as he scanned the extra-large room. It was built bigger than most bathrooms with an extra-large tub that was built into the floor. Finn found himself wondering why the grown-ups were into this kind of bathtub, to him, it looked more like a pool with hot water filling it.<p>

"I really don't see why we needed to have a bathroom like this built in…" The ice mage looked down at the different nobs and switches on the floor next to the large bath. "But it looks like it could be enjoyable… the jets would feel pretty good on my back. I'll have to give this thing a try I guess."

Finn stepped into the bathtub, the hot water felt like it was melting his skin right off, but it was a nice change from the freezing baths his father would make him take back at home. Gray would mention how it would help him and Rain with their training, but Finn didn't think it was helping him in any way. He let out a loud sigh as he rested his head back onto a small towel. His dark blue eyes staring up at the ceiling, watching the steam slowly rise up to the small window.

His cheeks began to grow hot as the warm water soaked into his bones. Finn closed his eyes, his thoughts invading his mind.

'_I can't believe dad is acting totally normal around everyone… it's like my parents aren't fighting at all…. Well, there's one thing I can be happy about. Lily is here without that stupid Chrono guy… I guess that's a plus for coming to this thing with everyone….'_

Finn blushed as he moved down more, letting the water consume most of his head. _'I'm so close to her, and yet I can't do anything…'_

Finn heard the door open and close from across the room. Without opening his eyes, he lifted himself up slightly. The ice mage opened his mouth and spoke, clearly annoyed.

"Someone's in here… can't you wait your turn Leo? Geez…"

A soft and familiar voice spoke. "What makes you think it's Leo? Did you honestly forget about me already?"

Finn's eyes shot open as his arms flailed in the air as Lily stood beside the bathtub, a towel wrapped around her body, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. A smirk was on her face as she looked down into the tub at her friend.

"Lily! W-what the hell!? Are you trying to get me killed by your dad?!"

Lily giggled and blushed slightly. "Wow Finn, I'm surprised you forgot to add the bubbles to your bath this time." Lily leaned over slightly. "I can see…_ everything_…" She winked as she stuck out her tongue at him.

Finn looked down and quickly grabbed the small towel he was laying his head on to use to cover himself up, sending a glare to Lily with a wild blush over his cheeks. Lily let out a laugh as she watched him. Finn quickly moved his knees to his chest and looked away from the girl standing beside the bath.

"Ok, so what the hell do you want Lily? You know there are like five other bathrooms in this house. Why did you choose mine?"

Lily smiled as she put her hand over the towel she was wearing, slowly undoing the tie. Finn watched her out of the corner of his eye, when he saw her hand start to undress her body, he quickly shut his eyes and struggled to get his words out.

"L-Lily! W-w-what do you think you're doing?! Y-your dad is seriously going to murder me!"

Finn could hear the towel drop and Lily's infamous giggle. "Relax Finn, I've got my bathing suit on." Finn slowly opened one eye and chanced a glance over to her. For once she was telling the truth. Lily began to climb into the same tub causing Finn to panic even more.

"Lily we're not kids anymore! W-what are you doing?!"

Lily sunk down low into the large tub, sighing and stretching her arms up. "It's been a while since we've done this huh?" Finn let out a huff as he turned his head away from her. Lily's hazel eyes glanced over to Finn. She could hear his heart beating in his chest, wondering why he had become so nervous all of a sudden. She smiled as she moved closer to Finn. The ice mage looked over quickly to the girl moving closer to him. He began to lean away from her as she inched closer through the water.

"W-what are you doing Lil?" He asked nervously.

"I'm going to wash your back for you. You gotta problem with that?" Lily raised a brow to Finn who gulped and shook his head quickly. "Good. So relax and turn around."

Finn did as he as he was told and turned his body around so his back was facing Lily. The girl grabbed one of the smaller towels and added some soap from a small bottle nearby. She felt Finn jump slightly as she placed the warm cloth over his back, running it in an up and down motion. Finn could feel his cheeks burning as he concentrated on anything but her. He kept his hands over the small towel covering his lower half, his fist clenched tightly as he felt her hands moving the towel all over his back, inching lower slowly.

"Y-you don't have to do this Lil."

Lily smiled as she continued to wash Finn's back. "I know. I wanted to talk."

Finn turned his head slightly, his solid blue eyes catching hazel. "You couldn't wait for me to get out?! What's so important that you had to come in here when I'm using the bath?!"

"You've been acting weird lately…. And I feel like you've been trying to avoid me when I ask ya about other girls."

Finn turned his head back forward, not wanting to admit that she was sorta right.

"You're my best friend Finn… I just don't want you to think that you can't tell me anything anymore just because I'm with Chrono and the band." Lily moved closer to Finn's body, wrapping her arms around his neck, embracing him lightly. "You know I'm always here for you right?"

Finn couldn't seem to get the words out of his mouth as he felt her body up against his back. He could feel her soft, wet flesh from her arms over his cool skin. Her chest was pressing against his back as she held him close, causing his body to react slightly. Finn clenched the small cloth between his legs tightly.

'_Why is she doing this to me?! Right now of all times! Don't think about her chest against your back… don't think about her… in her bathing suit… behind you…oh man…'_

"L-Lily…I…"

Both Lily and Finn looked up as they heard shouting coming from above them. Both of their eyes widened as Leo jumped into the bath completely naked. The boy made quite the splash as he hit the hot water, causing a small wave to crash into Finn and Lily. Once the blonde haired boy came up from under the water, he spit out a mouthful of water and leaned up against the side of the tub, letting out a relieving sigh as he smiled.

"Now this is a bathtub…" Leo looked across the tub and saw Lily sitting next to a naked Finn. Leo's eyes grew wide as he gasped at the sight. The young boy suddenly stood up, pointing a finger directly at Lily. His eye brows narrowed as he shouted. "What the hell is she doing in here?!" Leo's eyes moved away from the two and off in another direction as he brought the pointed finger to his chin. "Wait… is this bath co-ed? That means Rain could come in here! No wait…. Lily is in here… and she's not a girl… she's just a dragon so she doesn't count… so wait… what _are_ you doing in here?!" He asked as he once again pointed towards Lily.

Lily smirked as she looked at Leo. "Wow Leo. Tell me again, how many girls have you satisfied with _that?"_ Lily said mockingly as she pointed to Leo's naked form. Leo looked down, forgetting he was completely naked. His face grew hot as he covered himself up with his hands, quickly plunging his body back into the hot water below him. Lily let out a loud laugh as she watched Leo mumble something under the water, forming small bubble on the surface of the water.

"Fiiiiinn! Leeeeooo!"

The three turned their heads to see Leviana now joining them in the bath. Lily's eyes widened as her sister jumped into the water, landing in between the three of them. The young girl laughed as her sister glared down at her.

"What are you doing in here Leviana?"

"I wanted to take a bath with Finn and Leo! They're my future husbands!"

Leo crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke. "Ok, now Rain has to join us. Leviana is in here. It's officially co-ed now."

Lily growled as she stood clenching a tight fist. "I'm a girl too you idiot!"

Leo stood up and clenched his fist right back at Lily. "No, you're a stupid, slimy serpent!"

Leviana blushed as she watched Leo arguing with her sister. Lily looked down as Leo shouted at her and moved her eyes to what Leviana was staring at. Lily gasped and quickly covered her sisters' eyes with her hand.

"Hey!"

"You're still too young to see that Leviana! Leo, go cover up you idiot!"

Leo grinned as he rubbed his chin. "See? Even your sister is entranced by my body."

The dark haired girl growled loudly at Leo, wanting to pummel him into the ground for trying to get her sister to like him further. "Leave my sister alone you perv!"

Finn quickly got out of the tub, grabbing a lager towel to cover himself up with as the others fought, wanting to get out while he could. Leo spotted him by the door as he gathered his clothes.

"Hey! Finn, where are you going!? You can't leave me alone in here with this crazy dragon!"

Finn looked back and waved a hand. "I've gotta get to bed now otherwise I'm not going to be able to sleep at all tonight. Mom said a nasty storm was supposed to roll in tonight." Finn quickly left the bathroom and ran up to his room, leaving the three in the large room to themselves. Leviana struggled to free herself from Lily's grip as she heard Finn leave.

"No Finn! Come back! I didn't get a chance to wash you yet!"

Lily let her sister go as Leviana jumped out of the tub and out the door, following in Finn's footsteps. Lily kept her hazel eyes on the door with a worried look over her face.

"He's still afraid of storms?"

"You're his best friend remember?" Leo said as he put his hands on his hips. "You should know…"

Lily turned and scoffed, holding her hand up in front of her to cover the sight of Leo's bottom half. "I thought he got over this fear years ago…. He told me storms don't bother him anymore."

Leo let out a sigh as he sat back down in the water, putting his arms back up on the ledge. "Well maybe if you didn't spend so much time with that nit-wit of a boyfriend you have, and paid more attention to your friend, you would have known he was lying."

Lily looked down at the water. Leo was right, for once. Ever since she had hooked up with Chrono, she had put Finn on the back burner, not intentionally. It just sorta… happened. Lily stood up and stepped out of the bath herself, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body. As soon as she left the room, Leo let out another sigh, smiling to himself. "Alone at last…" The blonde haired boy sat in the water for a minute, staring up at the ceiling. Leo lowered his eyebrows and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. "I still want Rain to join me…. We could have washed each other's backs…. Finn gets to have all the fun around here…."

* * *

><p>Finn laid on his back in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He let out a soft sigh as he mumbled to himself. "So much for falling asleep…" His solid blue eyes looked over to the alarm clock nearby. "Mom said the storm would pass right over in the night… but if I don't get to sleep soon… I'm not gonna get to sleep at all."<p>

Finn's thoughts stopped as he heard Lily opening the door on the other side of the room, turning her light on as she entered. He watched the thin sheet separating the two from each other, watching her silhouette against the fabric. His eyes widened as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat. She was changing her clothes on the other side. He could tell she was changing out from her bathing suit to something more comfortable for sleeping. Finn quickly pulled the blankets over his head and rolled over to face the other side of the room.

Lily paused for a minute and listened. She had a feeling Finn was still up since it wasn't that late into the night, and the storm hadn't gotten to them yet. She put her tank top over her head and pulled it down over her midriff. Lily ran her hands underneath her hair and moved it out of the fabric that she wore. She slipped into a pair of shorts she usually wore for sleeping in, adjusting the band slightly. Lily went back over to her light switch and turned it off.

The dark haired girl poked her head around the sheet separating their rooms and whispered. "Finn… you awake?"

Finn stayed quiet for a minute before sitting up in his bed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah… unfortunately." Lily smiled as she moved past the sheet, walking over to Finn's bed. Finn could feel his heart beating fast in his chest as he watched her walk towards him. She was wearing nothing but a back tank top and a dark pair of shorts, showing off every curve she had on her body. Lily made her way to the bed and started to climb in next to Finn who immediately pulled the blanket closer to his body.

"W-what are you d-doing Lil?!"

Lily sat on her bent legs underneath her with her hands in the middle of her body. "I read in a book somewhere that when people get anxious or scared, having another humans touch will comfort them." The dark haired girl leaned in close to Finn, a smile over her face. "So I'm going to help you through this when the storm hits."

Finn's solid blue eyes couldn't help themselves but glance down slightly as Lily leaned in close to him_. 'This is pure torture…'_

Finn snapped back out of his lustful thoughts as Lily lifted up the blanket and laid down next to her friend in the bed, motioning for Finn to do the same. Finn hesitantly laid back down and faced Lily who was holding a soft hand out to him. Finn placed his into hers lightly. Her grip was strong but still soft, comforting him. His cheeks grew hot as his eyes looked past their hands up to her face. She was still smiling at him with softened eyes.

"What?..." He asked nervously.

Lily giggled as she spoke. "It's just kinda funny how you're still afraid of storms…"

Finn withdrew his hand away from Lily and rolled over, flustered and slightly aroused. "I-I am not! If Leo told you I was, well then he's a freaken liar!" '_God… why does everything about her make me want to just…touch her…. Maybe coming here this weekend was a bad idea….'_

Lily lifted herself up and rested her chin on Finn's arm, smirking as she pulled back some of his dark navy blue hair behind his ear. "Want me to sing you a song or read to you like old times?"

Finn blushed a darker shade of red as he heard her above him. The ice mage moved his arm up slightly to get Lily off of it. "No… I'll be fine."

Lily giggled once more as she rolled over, pulling the blanket over her body. "Ok fine. But I'm still going to sleep here until the storm passes over… just in case you need me."

'_Great… caz that's exactly what I want right now…'_

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><p>As the night went on, Finn tried desperately to fall asleep with no prevail. He avoided rolling over knowing Lily was still sleeping in his bed. He looked at the alarm clock as it read 2:00am. Finn sighed in relief. '<em>Good… the storm isn't going to hit us. Must have died down before it could reach this place. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep. Lily should be passed out by now… so rolling over shouldn't wake her.'<em>

Just as the ice mage rolled over to face the middle of the bed, his chest tightened as he was face to face with Lily. She had not only rolled over in her sleep, but she was even closer to him now. Finn began to shake slightly as he watched her sleep. Her breathing was slow and steady, causing her frame to rise and fall ever so slightly. Finn noticed a few strands of black hair had fallen over her face when she had rolled over. He gulped and slowly brought a hand up, withdrawing it slightly before reaching out for her hair. He slowly and gently moved the few strands back behind her ear, stopping quickly as he heard her mumble something in her sleep.

Finn looked at her for another moment before his eyes traveled back down to her tank top and what it was revealing to him. He could hear his heart beating in his throat as his hand moved away from her ear. As it inched closer to her bare skin, something in the back of his mind told him no, not to do it, but something else was telling him to go for it. Finn ignored the voice in his head and ran a finger over her tank top strap, moving it down her bare arm slowly. He could feel her soft frame with his cool hand. She was so warm under his icy touch.

"_Do it… you know you want to…"_

Finn's hand slowly left the strap and ran back up her arm up to her shoulder.

"_Do it Finn…"_

The ice mage was watching Lily intently now, it was strange how she had such heightened senses yet she wasn't waking to his cool touch. Finn bit his bottom lip as his hand traveled closer to the middle of her chest.

"_Yes, that's right…. Do it! She would want you to do it Finn…"_

Just as Finn was about to search the rest of Lily's darkened skin something clicked in his head, causing his hand to stop in its tracks. "Wait… what?" He whispered.

"_She's probably used to this kind of stuff so just do it! Come on you know you want to! Even if she is a slimy, creepy, and mean serpent…"_

Finn's eyes widened as he knew exactly what was going on. He quickly and quietly turned his body around to see Leo behind him, smiling devilishly. The blonde haired boy waved a hand at Finn as he smiled.

Finn gritted his teeth as his cheeks grew hot. He angrily whispered to his friend. "What the hell are you doing in here!?"

"What were _you _about do?! I'm just trying to help a brother out is all… hell knows you don't have the balls to do it on your own!"

"Will you just get out of here before Lily wakes up!"

Leo grinned and nudged Finn lightly. "Why? Is my big guy all worked up he needs to finish the job while she sleeps? Eh? Eh?"

Finn groaned as he sat up in the bed. He pointed towards the door and raised his voice slightly. "Just get out of here!"

"Finn and Lily, sittin' in a tree! Wanting to make out with her in front of me!" Leo mockingly sang quietly. The ice mage was burning from head to toe at his friend who proceeded to laugh on the floor. Finn could feel a chill running up his spine suddenly, making his whole body shudder. His head turned slightly and caught sight of Lily who had just woken up from Leo.

"Uh…. Leo… you might want to start running…" Finn warned quietly. Leo continued to laugh as he rolled around on the floor, singing his new song further to Finn. Lily stood up on her side of Finn's bed and made her way around to Leo without a word. Leo's laughing started to die down as he rolled one last time. His expression changed quickly to fear as he looked up at Lily who was leaning over the younger boy with her hands on her hips. She was sending a dark glare to the boy who laid on the ground, completely vulnerable.

"Eh..hehehe… heeey Lily…" Leo managed to get out. "I was just… uh… checking up on Finn… you know.. makin' sure he was ok."

"Get. Out. Leo."

Those cold words were enough to make Finn feel the anger in her voice, making him shiver under the covers. Leo laughed nervously as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head as he inched past Lily towards the door. Lily kept her angry gaze on him until he left the room. Letting out an annoyed sigh. She turned back to Finn who jumped slightly.

"Lily… I…"

Lily raised a brow at Finn, not noticing that a strap was practically half way down her arm, showing off a bit of the side of her breast. "What is it?"

Finn blushed as he fought with his eyes to keep them on her hazel ones. "N-nothing… I-I just wanted to say that the storm.. uh… isn't going to hit us.. so… I… I think I'll be ok to sleep by myself for the rest of the night."

Lily watched Finn for a long minute before shrugging her shoulders and walking past the thin sheet back to her own bed. Finn let out a sigh as he laid back down in his bed.

'_That…. that was a close one…'_ The ice mage glanced down at his body and groaned. '_God damn it… why did I have to look?! Now I'm definitely not getting any sleep tonight.'_

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><p>The next morning, everyone was at the table eating breakfast like one loud, crazy family. Finn sat in between Leo and Lily, clearly sleep deprived. Levy passed Gajeel some bread as she looked at her oldest daughter and Finn.<p>

"So you two, how was your rooms? Did you guys sleep ok?"

Leo grinned as he snickered to himself. Finn jabbed an elbow into Leo's side, sending him a death glare if he was to say anything that happened the night before. Lily was the one to speak first.

"It was fine mom. Finn was up all night because he was worried about the possible storm that was supposed to hit so he didn't get much sleep."

Finn glanced over to Lily, silently thanking her for not mentioning how she basically shared his bed almost the whole night. Levy smiled at the two of them.

"Good, I'm glad you guys didn't have a problem sharing the room how it is right now." She looked to Gajeel and lowered her tone of voice. "Your father should have had it done by the time we got here… _right_ Gajeel?" The iron dragon slayer practically choked on his breakfast when Levy spoke to him. He glanced over hesitantly, knowing he was in trouble. Levy looked back at Lily and Finn with a smile. "Hopefully next time we come out here it will be done. For now, you two don't mind how it is?"

Lily shook her head alone with Finn. Levy smiled as she continued eating her breakfast. Finn looked over at Lily and wondered how much she remembered from last night. Leo leaned in and whispered into Finn's ear.

"I know why someone didn't get any sleep…."

Finn once again sent a death glare to Leo as he jabbed him in his gut, causing the blonde haired boy to cough. Lucy looked at Leo from across the table, a raised brow on her concerned face.

"Leo, you ok?"

Leo grinned up at his mother with a wide smile. "Yep! I'm ok mom!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Later that afternoon, Loke sat down on the couch, wrapping his arm around Lucy and pulling her in closer to his body. "Alright, so Gray. How have things been going? You haven't said much since you guys got here yesterday, and we haven't really been able to talk to anyone since Lucy and I have been out traveling."

Gajeel sat in a chair next to the couch Loke and Lucy sat in with Levy sitting quietly on one of his large legs. "Yeah it'd be a nice change to hear something other than being bitched at about the house not being finished."

Levy pushed Gajeel's shoulder lightly as she glared at him. "I have never bitched about the house not being done. I've merely just kept reminding you."

Juvia sat across from the rest of the small group on the opposite couch. Her hands folded together in her lap as she sat a small distance away from Gray who was leaning back onto the couch with his arms resting at his sides. He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke.

"I still have kids and older people asking for guitar lessons all the time so I'm kinda busy with that. Juvia has been busy with her work at the record company, and when Finn and Rain come home, I usually am working with them on their magic."

Lucy smiled as she looked at Gray and Juvia. "Has Finn gotten any better with his magic? Last I saw he could barely make anything more than an ice shield. It was so cute the way he tried so hard."

Juvia's eyes cast down as Lucy finished her sentence. Gray's jaw clenched tightly as he looked away from his friends. Lucy looked at them both confusingly. "Was it something I said?"

Juvia was first to speak, holding a hand out towards Lucy. "Oh, no Lucy. It wasn't anything that you've said. It's just… Finn is having difficulties improving his magic. It's been... stressful on all of us."

Gray glanced over to Juvia silently before looking back to his friends. "That's why we've decided to put him through a special school called the Rune Knights Academy if he doesn't improve his magic by the time he graduates his senior year."

Juvia turned her attention to Gray, her eyebrows lowered slightly. "Gray, we didn't agree on anything like that yet… I said we should talk about it first."

Without looking to Juvia, Gray reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He pulled back the small tab on the box and pulled a cigarette out with his lips, bringing the lighter up to the tip and lighting it up. "We did talk about it earlier this week. I told you if he can prove to me that his magic is improving, he can chose where he goes to college. If not, we're sending him to the Rune Knights place." Gray said as he took the cigarette from his lips with this fingers, letting out a puff of smoke into the air. Levy looked at them both worriedly.

"Um.. when did you start smoking again Gray?" Levy asked. Gray shrugged his shoulders once more as he spoke.

"Not sure when I started it back up. I guess I've just been getting so stressed out with teaching Finn his magic, I just kinda picked it back up."

Juvia's eyes grew angry with Gray's statement as her hands moved to her sides. "_You've_ been stressed?! Have _you_ even seen our son lately?! You have been pushing and pushing him with his magic so much to the point he is feeling overly pressured to do better. You can't always push someone Gray. You need to take time with Finn. He's different."

Gray looked to Juvia angrily. "And if I don't push him harder, he'll never learn anything! You've tried the gentle method and it got you nowhere! We agreed that when I took over in the kids training, I could do what I want to get them to achieve greatness."

Juvia stood quickly, anger overflowing around her. "You're going about it all wrong Gray!" The water mage stormed out of the room, leaving Gray to himself on the couch, and the other grown-ups to watch the awkward situation unfold.

"Uh.. what just happened?" Lucy asked.

"It's nothing." Gray said as his head hung down slightly, hiding his eyes.

"Juvia seemed pretty upset… what's been goin' on with you two?" Gajeel added in.

"I said its nothing! So get off my case!" Gray yelled angrily as he stood. His fists were balled up tightly, shaking slightly. The ice mage turned around away from the small group. "I'm sorry… I just don't want to talk about this right now. Everything is fine between me and Juvia." Gray walked over to the closet near the front door, opening it and quickly grabbing his jacket. "I'm going to go into town for a bit."

As the group watched the ice mage leave in a hurry, they couldn't help but look around at each other in worry. Lucy was first to speak.

"That was really weird… I don't think I've ever seen Gray so upset."

Gajeel smirked as he threw in his comment. "Yeah, didn't even strip once while we were in here. The actually put more clothes on!"

"Gajeel!" Levy said in an annoyed tone. The iron dragon slayer shrugged his shoulders.

"What?! Am I not being truthful here? I mean everyone noticed that too right?"

Loke rubbed his chin with his index finger and thumb, pondering to himself. "That did seem rather odd."

Lucy looked around to her friends. "Maybe we should talk to them separately. We should try to figure out what is going on between the two of them."

Loke rubbed the back of his head, moaning slightly just before he spoke. "I'm… not sure that's such a good idea."

Lucy put her hands on her hips as she sat upright. "And why not?! They are our friends Loke! And we deserve to know the truth about what's going on!"

Loke looked away from the blonde haired girl, a sadden look over his face. "Maybe it's for the best that we stay out of this…. We don't want to cause more friction than they already have."

Lucy's face softened as she listened to her husband. "What do you mean Loke?"

"Isn't it obvious, blondie?" Gajeel said bluntly as Lucy looked up to him still quite confused. "It sounds to me like things are going south for the two former love birds."

"You mean… they are… getting a divorce?" Lucy said quietly.

"Well how else can you explain the way they are acting?! For one, Rain woman isn't all over Gray, Gray is even quieter than usual, not to mention he hasn't striped once since we've gotten here. And look at that little argument they just had in front of us. If it were me and Levy fighting about where Lily, Gaje, or Leviana go to college because of their abilities, we know full well we wouldn't both up and leave the room over that unless there was more to the story."

"Gajeel does have a point there Lu… I've noticed that too when they first got here that they both seemed a bit distant towards each other." Levy said sadly. The celestial mage looked down as she brought a hand up to her chest.

"It's just so weird to hear someone say that about them. I mean… they were the second ones to get married and have a kid right? They used to be so happy…"

"I know… I've never seen Juvia this sad before. But something's going on between the two of them and if they haven't told us yet, they probably won't ever. So we won't say nothin' and just act like everything's normal around here." Gajeel said as he leaned back in his chair.

Lucy stood up quickly, clenching her fist. "But how can you say that!? Something clearly is not going well for the two of them! As their friends it's our job to help them the best we can! That's what friends do! We stick by each other through thick and thin! We're there for each other no matter what…." Lucy looked down as tears began to form in her eyes. "We have to try to help them save their marriage."

Gajeel looked at Lucy with a raised studded brow. "All I said was that their relationship is soundin' like it's going south… you were the one who think they are going through a divorce. And I'm sorry blondie, but very few people turn back around form a divorce. Once it's determined that's what's gonna happen, it's basically set in stone."

"Well fine! I'm going to go talk to Juvia about all of this!" Just as Lucy took a couple of steps, Loke stood up and reached for her arm, pulling her back slightly. The blonde girl looked back at Loke, anger in her eyes. "Let me go! I need to talk to her!"

"Lucy… why don't we let them both cool off for a while, then later on we can all talk to them. Sometimes couples just need some space." Loke looked into his wife's big, chocolate eyes. They were swollen with tears about to escape the corners of her eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go comfort her and his two other friends, but he knew deep down it was the right thing to do to let them both have time away from people. Loke pulled Lucy in, hugging her lightly as he rubbed her back with his hand. "Come on… lets go see if the kids want to play a game or something fun like that."

Lucy silently nodded as Loke walked her out of the room, in search of the kids. Levy waited until the other two were out of the room before she let out a soft sigh. Gajeel turned to face her as she sat on his lap still, her hands resting on her lap quietly.

"What's wrong Shrimp?"

Levy looked at Gajeel, her hazel eyes upset and slightly torn. "Gajeel… what if they really are getting a divorce?"

Gajeel looked away, searching for something to say in his mind without upsetting her further. "Levy… sometimes… things just don't work out with people. It's life. It happens. For all we know it's just a phase the two are going through."

"I hope you're right. I would hate to see how Finn and Rain would take it. Poor kids…"

"Alright, enough of this mushy crap. Let's get out there with carrot top and blondie. We came here this weekend to have some fun. Besides, I need you to be in a happier mood for tonight." Gajeel said with a grin as he teased Levy slightly. The blue haired girl blushed slightly as she pushed away Gajeel's wandering hands.

"Gajeel… I told you we aren't going to have any more kids. Three is enough for us."

"Who said anything about makin' more kids? I was referring to having a good time." The iron dragon slayer pulled Levy in closer to his body, kissing her shoulder lightly sending chills down Levy's' spine. "You and I need to blow off some steam and what better way than to have a special night together?"

Levy glanced over to the iron dragon slayers crimson red orbs, smiling at him as he looked back into her hazel eyes. "And what about the other people sleeping in this house?"

Gajeel smirked as he let out his unique laugh to Levy. "Well then I guess I'll just have to silence you with kisses all night." The large man turned Levy's face towards his as he leaned in closer to her face. His warm lips brushed over hers lightly before they took over her own.

* * *

><p>Finn sat on his bed with a pen in his mouth and his eyes fixed on the computer screen of his laptop. He had a notebook beside him as he searched the internet intently, mumbling to himself. Lily peeked her head around the sheet separating their rooms, her eyes staring straight at Finn.<p>

"Hey! Finn! Everyone is getting together outside to play a game of flag football. You should come down and join us!" She said excitedly. Without looking away from his laptop, Finn responded to Lily.

"No thanks, I'm kinda busy right now."

Lily stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "Busy doin' what?"

"I'm looking stuff up Lil. I'll play later…"

Lily huffed as she stuck her head back onto her side of the thin sheet. Finn glanced over to where she had stuck her head in, letting out a relieved sigh that she had actually listened to him for once and left him alone. Solid blue eyes went back to the computer screen, scrolling over the open pages.

Lily closed the door to her side of the room and crossed her arms over her chest as she rested her back on the door behind her. Gaje happened to walk by with a book in his face. Lily eyed him as he walked by without a word, scoffing as he passed her. "Aren't ya gonna ask me what's wrong, Gaje?"

The younger brother stopped and let out a long sigh. He closed his book, keeping his fingers in place of the page he left off on as he turned to face Lily. His expression was uninterested of her problems, clearly, but he stopped to give his older sister the attention she was craving.

"What's wrong Lily?" He asked as he rolled his eyes annoyingly.

Lily stomped her foot as her fists went down to her sides. "Finn won't come out and play with me and the others…. I really wanted him to join us. Dad said it was kids versus grown-ups."

Gaje looked at his older sister, thinking of how spoiled she was, how whenever she didn't get what she wanted, she would throw a tantrum or get all moody. It must have formed when he was born, along with Leviana, causing Lily to be the eldest of three, and no longer the center of attention. Their age gap made it harder for Lily to come to terms with having younger siblings, but for many years, she seemed to deal with it. She was always one to love getting a lot of attention. Gaje always seemed to think that's why she truly joined her boyfriend's band in the first place. Just for the extra attention she wasn't receiving at home. And yet, still to this day, she is still craving, wanting more attention.

'_Maybe one day she will find someone who can fulfil her need for attention…'_ Gaje thought as he toned out Lily's snappy remarks towards him. Gajes' hearing came back to him as Lily put her hands on her hips.

"Are you even listening to me Gaje?!" Lily said angrily.

'_But then again… it would have to be someone who truly loved her to be able to deal with this girl….'_

"Why don't you do what you always do to Finn to get his attention? Like when you were younger?"

Lily looked at her brother confusingly. "What I always do to him?"

Gaje turned around and started walking away, pulling his book back up to his face. "I'm sure you'll remember Lily."

The dark haired girl put a finger to her chin as she thought. "What I always do to him…. Oh!" She said as her face lit up in excitement. Lily reopened the door quietly behind her, sneaking into Finn's side behind the thin fabric. She watched him type away at his laptop, jot down notes in his note book, and scroll through the open pages on the web. She tiptoed quietly as she could, inching closer and closer to Finns' backside.

"Hey Finn…"

"Not now Lily… I told you I'm bus—" The young boy was cut off as he felt Lily grab him forcefully by the back of his collar, pulling him back down so he laid on his backside. Before he had a chance to get back up, Lily was on him, her hands pinning him down by the shoulders with the rest of her body lifted above his. Finn looked up at her, his heart beating uncontrollably fast as his eyes widened in nervousness. "W-what the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm doing what I always do. I'm going to keep you here until you agree to come down and play with me and the others."

"Lil, I've got a lot of stuff to do! G-get off me!"

Lily sat her body down onto Finn, crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked at the boy underneath her. "Not until you agree to come down." Finn growled slightly as he fought to get her off of him. Lily giggled and looked at him with a smile and a raised brow. "Really Finn? We all know you can't get me off of you. I'm stronger, remember?"

Finn looked over the girl straddling him. "Look you just need… to get off of me… please…"

"No. Not until you say yes to the game."

Finn reached out and grabbed Lily's hips, causing him to blush slightly. Finn shut his eyes and groaned as he attempted to lift Lily off of his body. "God damn it Lily did you reinforce your body weight with your magic or what?!"

The older girl was unaffected by his touch as she leaned in closer to Finn, her hands at either side of his head. "Just say yes, and I will get off ya."

Finn so badly wanted her to get off of him, but at the same time, loved the way this felt. He had dreamt many times about this. Lily straddling his hips, their bodies molding together as one, their lips locked in passionate kisses, his hands exploring every inch of her body.

"Oi! Ice boy! You in there?"

Finn shook his blushing face as Lily looked over him. "A-alright I'll come down! Just get off me!"

Lily smiled as she jumped off of Finn quickly. The young boy let out a sigh of relief as he sat up. "That was a close one..."

"What was?" Lily asked as she looked at Finn.

"N-Nothing! I'll just… be down in a minute Lil."

Lily grinned as she jumped up and down excitedly, leaving the room quickly. Finn laid back down on his bed, replaying the feeling of Lily straddling him, the way her hips felt in his hands, how badly he wanted to turn the tables and be the one to pin her down. Finn blushed a crimson red color as he smacked himself in the face.

"That'll never happen… so I need to stop thinking about this… about her…." Finns' solid blue eyes glanced down at his laptop as his screen saver came into view. They were pictures of his family, ones of him and Leo, and ones of him and Lily. She was hanging over his shoulders, smiling brightly as she waved a hand at the camera with Finn smiling nervously looking at the dark haired girl. _'She makes it so hard to forget about her sometimes.'_

"FINN! COME ON LETS GO!" Lily called up from down stairs. Finn sat up and closed the laptop as he stood. The young boy smiled as he sighed.

"The things I do for this girl."

* * *

><p>Gray sat at the bar, digging into his pockets for another cigarette as the bartender set a glass in front of Gray, filling it with a dark, amber colored drink.<p>

"Rough day there pal?" The man behind the bar asked.

Gray lit up his cigarette, inhaling it for a minute and letting out the puff of smoke. With his other hand, he picked up the glass, bringing it to his lips quickly, sending the liquid down his throat with one gulp. The ice mage set the glass back down, pushing it towards the bartender. "Another."

The man shrugged his shoulders and poured Gray another glass. Gray's eyes watched as the liquid hit the bottom of the glass, working its way up as the man poured.

"Um… Gray?" Juvia asked nervously as she stood beside Gray. The dark haired guitarist looked up at his manager and smiled.

"Hey what's up Juvia?"

"Can I um… can I have a word with you for a moment?" She asked with a quiet voice. Gray noticed the way she shook nervously as she spoke to him. He raised a brow as he stood, following Juvia into the other conference room away from Gajeel and Loke. Juvia led Gray into the other room and closed the door behind them. She rested her back against it as her head hung down slightly. Gray stood a few feet away from her with his hands in his pockets.

"So what's up? Is it about the band? Loke has been writing like crazy so you don't have to worry about that department."

Juvia kept her hands behind her as she spoke. "No… it's not that…"

Gray raised a brow. "Ok… so then what's wrong? Are the big guys pushing for us to get another cd out sooner?"

Juvia shook her head, still silent. Gray stepped closer to the water mage, placing a hand on her shoulder lightly. "Juvia, what's wrong?"

Juvia looked up at Gray, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. Gray jumped slightly at the sudden surprise. "Was it something I said?"

"Gray… I'm pregnant…"

Gray looked at her blankly for a moment, trying to process what she had just said as he watched her before him. They were both silent for a while, standing in front of one another. Gray closed his eyes lightly as he smiled, laughing lightly to himself. Juvia looked at him in surprise as he started to laugh a bit louder.

"What's so funny?"

Gray reopened his eyes, looking at Juvia with a smile on his face. "Is that all? Man you scared me I thought it was something about the band."

"But… you're the father…"

"So I guess that means we should probably get married then, huh?"

Juvia watched Gray for a long minute, wanting to make sure he was being totally serious with her. She never gave it any thought what would happen if she had ever gotten pregnant, let alone to the man she had just started dating. But now he was proposing marriage to her after she had just told him she was carrying their child.

"Are… are you being serious Gray?" Juvia asked.

Gray smiled as he looked at Juvia's solid blue eyes. "Why not? Kids' gotta have parents, right?"

Juvia felt her eyes swelling with tears once more as a smile began to form over her lips. The water mage moved closer to Gray, hiding her face into his chest. Gray laughed lightly as he wrapped his arms around her, embracing her gently.

"Here you go sir, another whiskey." The bartender said as he moved the small glass towards Gray once more. Gray looked down at the glass, picking it back up with his free hand and pressing the cool glass to his lips. The dark drink ran over his tongue and down his throat, slowly making him forget his memories of the past.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Still feeling bad for Finn? Lol me too. <strong>

**Also yes that was a flashback between Juvia and Gray at the end here. More to come in the next few chapters! :D**

**Nyma: lol I know I love Leo so much because of how he is. And yes Lily probably will murder him one day for all the crap he says to her face.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

****Warning!****

**Some GaLe smut towards the beginning so if you don't want to read it, just skip over it. (It ends just before the third line break.) it's nothing too crazy but I know some people don't like to read over it still.**

**BambooGreen: lol I'm glad you love the story so far. I actually was going to have Gajeel and Levy have twins after Leviana, but decided it may be too many kids at the moment in the story lol. I tried to keep the amount of kids to a minimum just so that way too I didn't have to ponder over thousands of names and write even more kids! Haha I know she's really oblivious and so much like her father in so many ways, maybe one day she'll figure herself out. :P and don't worry, I will have a father/daughter moment between them. I just won't tell you when teehee!**

**Nyma: lol yeah she's pretty oblivious. I like Gray myself, and that's totally awesome about the keychain! I've thought about getting a Lucy one…. Kinda wish they had a Loke one, personably, but then I'm like aw man… I want everyone! Lol and yeah… I know it gets hard to write the story sometimes caz I feel so bad for their family. But its what makes the story so good. To be honest, I thought about doing one more story after this with just the kids, but I don't think I'm going to lol. My awesome friend Msktk said she might write a one shot after all of this is over between two of the kids. And thanks! ^_^ I'm having fun writing the chapters and I'm glad you guys are enjoying them as well!**

* * *

><p>"Here, take a seat on the couch, and I'll go get Finn out of his room." Gray said with a smile as he helped Juvia onto the softened seat. Juvia smiled brightly and graciously at Gray.<p>

"Do you think he'll be upset about all of this? I mean… this is going to be a big deal for all of us Gray."

Gray grinned down at Juvia, raising a brow as he spoke. "I honestly don't know how he's gonna take it. Could be good, could be bad. I'll be right back." Gray leaned in and kissed Juvia's' forehead lightly. "You're so beautiful." He whispered as he ran a hand over her blue hair as he stood back up straight.

The water mage smiled as she received the complement from her husband. She never grew tired of his caring and loving words to her. Juvia watched as the ice mage headed up the stairs to grab their son. She looked down at her swollen stomach, running a hand over it lightly as she smiled. Gray came back into sight with their three year old son as they walked hand in hand down the stairs towards Juvia. Gray lifted Finn up and set him down on the couch next to Juvia, taking a seat on the nearby wooden coffee table in front of the couch. Gray brought his hands together, resting them in between his legs as he watched his son look at Juvia down to her stomach.

"Mommy? Why is your belly getting bigger? Did you eat too much food today?" The small boy asked.

Juvia laughed lightly as she ran her hand over Finn's blue hair. "No Finn, this isn't from mommy eating too much food. Your dad and I wanted to talk to you about something."

Finn pulled his legs in further onto the couch, sitting with his legs crossed as he faced his mother. "Is Lily coming back over this weekend? I don't want to play tea party anymore."

Gray chuckled as the memory of himself having to sit through the tea parties flooded his mind. He was glad his son felt the same way towards the girls' playtime. Juvia once again laughed at her small son. "No, Finn… mommy and daddy wanted to tell you that well…" Juvia's solid blue eyes looked up to Gray who matched her gaze with a smile. The water mage looked back to her son and leaned in closer to him. "How would you like to have a little sister?"

Finn stared into his mother's blue eyes for a long minute, not saying a word. It looked like Finn was trying to process through this mind what all of this meant, what his parents were trying to tell him at that moment. Gray leaned over and nudged Finn lightly with his hand. "So kiddo? What do you think?"

Finn looked up at Gray, a second later speaking. "I'm gonna have a sister?"

"Yes. Are you upset?" Juvia asked. Finn looked back at his mother, shocking her with the smile over his cute face. The small boy shook his head before he spoke once more.

"Where is she now? Is she playing hide and seek with me?" Finn asked as he stood up on the couch. Juvia and Gray let out a laugh together as they watched Finn scanning the room. "She isn't going to be like Lily is she? Lily likes to drag me around everywhere when we play hide and seek."

"Well… since you're going to be the older brother, you won't have that problem I'm sure kiddo." Gray said as he watched Finn sit back down on the couch.

"So then when do I get to meet her?"

Juvia rubbed her swollen stomach and smiled. "Do you want to meet her right now?"

Finn's face lit up as he looked at his mother in excitement. "Yeah! I wanna show her all my toys too!"

"Well it's too soon for that Finn, but here, give me your hand." Juvia said as she held out her own soft palm. Finn did as he was told and quickly handed over his hand to his mother. She giggled as he placed the small palm over her belly, looking back at Finn to see his reaction.

"I don't get it mommy." Finn said as he looked from her stomach up to her face. Gray scooted off the table and kneeled down before Juvia, placing his own hand next to Finns.

"Your sister is in here, Finn."

"She is?" the small boy asked confusingly.

"Yeah, she's living inside mommy right now as she grows. That's what babies do."

"Well… when do I get to meet her?" Finn asked with a sad look over his face.

"You're meeting her right now. She can hear you, and since you have your hand on mommy's tummy, she knows you're here right now. Sometimes, if you're patient enough, your sister will touch back."

Finn looked at Gray with a surprised expression. "Really?!"

"That's right. So why don't you introduce yourself Finn?" Juvia said as she closed her eyes happily. Finn looked down at his hand that sat peacefully on his mother's stomach.

"What's her name?"

Juvia and Gray looked at each other, completely forgetting to think of the most important thing. "We haven't come up with one yet."

Gray looked up at Finn with a grin over his face. "Would you like to name her kiddo?"

Finn nodded at his father, turning his attention back at the swollen his hand laid upon. He stared hard into the stomach, making Gray and Juvia look at each other, laughing lightly at their sons' goofiness. After a few minutes Finn looked up to his parents. "Can we call her Rain?"

Gray raised a confused brow. "Why Rain?"

Finn smiled sweetly. "Caz Uncle Gajeel keeps calling mommy Rain woman. I like the rain and mommy. They both make me happy. And I can tell already that I'm going to like my sister."

Juvia's heart began to melt as she looked at her son. The water mage ran her hand over the blue hair that spiked out in every direction. "I think Rain is good name."

"Yeah. I like it too." Gray said as he stood up. "Now who wants some cake to celebrate?"

Both mother and son raised their hands at the same time, signaling to Gray they were both interested in the sweet dessert. Gray smiled as he left the room, leaving Finn to stare at his mother's stomach once more. The small child looked at his mother as he spoke. "So when is she gonna be here mommy?"

"In a couple more months."

"That sounds like a long time from now for me to see her." Finn said as he tilted his head to the side some.

"Trust me Finn, these next couple of months will fly by quickly. You know your Aunt Lucy is having a child too right?"

"Is that why she looks like you too? I thought she kept eating too much too." Finn replied.

Juvia let out a sweet laugh. "You're something else Finn. But that's a good thing. It's what makes you so special."

Finn smiled at his mother before looking back at the swollen belly. Finn inched closer to his mother and slowly lowered his face to the belly before him. He waved a hand at it lightly before drawing small patterns over the overly stretched shirt. "Hey Rain. It's me, your big brother Finn. I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to wait patiently like daddy said. I think you should come out now so I can see you, but I'm going to be a good boy and wait. And when you get here, I'm going to show you all my toys, don't worry, I'll share." Juvia watched as Finn continued to talk to her stomach and the growing life inside, smiling to herself.

Finn looked up at his mother questionably. "Mommy… why does Uncle Gajeel call you Rain woman all the time?"

Juvia laughed as she leaned down closer to her young son, kissing his forehead lightly. "That is a story for when you are older. Remind me one day and I will tell you all about it."

* * *

><p>Gray tripped as he took the step up to the front door, slamming his body into the wood to catch himself. He turned his body slightly so he could reach into his pants pocket to get out his key to unlock the door. Gray looked down his right arm as he pulled his keys out from his pocket, staring at it for a long moment before turning his body once more and stepping back slightly to try to find the lock. He thrust his hand forward, missing the key hole and scratching the side of the lock multiple times before he finally was able to insert the key in place, unlocking the door and quickly stumbling inside. The ice mage staggered into the large house, slamming the door behind him, immediately turning around and placing a finger to his lips, shushing the loud door as it slammed shut in the middle of the night.<p>

* * *

><p>Gajeel's hand moved away from Levy's mouth, moving slowly down her neck to the middle of her chest, resting it there as he pushed her back lightly as she straddled his hips between her thighs. Levy let out a soft moan as Gajeel's hips moved up into hers, his other hand resting on her rear, guiding her body down into his. The dragon slayer grinned as he leaned up to his wife, whispering into her ear.<p>

"Now I let my hand off of your mouth because you promised to be quiet…"

Levy smiled as she looked back into that devilish grin and crimson orbs. "You also told me you were going to silence me with your kisses… not your hand. Which makes you the one who isn't following the rules of our special night."

Gajeel's unique laugh escaped his throat at Levy's words. The large man leaned back into the bed, looking over the view that sat on top of his body. Gajeel's hands slid down to Levy's hips, gripping her soft, delicate skin as she began to move her body with his.

Levy smiled down at Gajeel, earning her a toothy grin from the large brute. The petite girl leaned over Gajeel's' large torso, settling her hands on his broad chest as she brushed her soft lips over his. She was driving him crazy as she nipped playfully at his bottom lip, sucking on it lightly before releasing it. A low growl escaped his throat as he pushed her body down onto his suddenly, receiving a delightful and somewhat loud moan from Levy. Gajeel took his chance and quickly took her open mouth with his to silence her. Levy's hands moved up to the side of Gajeel's head, gripping his thick, black mane tightly as he continued to move her small body with his, sending waves of pleasure throughout her petite form.

A sudden noise coming from downstairs startled both the dragon slayer and the script mage, causing both to stop their movements and look to the door.

"What was that?" Levy asked, the sound of fear in her voice. Gajeel on the other hand, chose to ignore it as he leaned back up to kiss Levy.

"Just ignore it Shrimp." He said as he pulled her head back down to meet his. Levy shook her head as she pushed herself up against him, once again looking to the door.

"Gajeel, what if it's someone breaking in?"

The iron dragon slayer sighed as he threw his head back down onto the pillow. "Or it could just be one of the kids. Just forget about it. Come on, let's just get back to what we were doin'. I know you were gettin' close." He said with a grin as he ran his hands to the front of Levy's body, gripping each breast with a large hand. Levy blushed slightly as Gajeel began to tease her once more, but she knew better than to ignore the sounds she heard from below. The script mage took hold of Gajeel's hands, holding them in place as she looked down at him.

"Please… will you just go check… for me?"

Gajeel glared at Levy for a long minute before letting out a sigh as he rolled his eyes. "Fine… but if it's nothing, I'm coming back up here and teasing you unmercifully for stopping this."

Levy leaned in and planted a light kiss on Gajeel's lips, smiling at him. "Thank you."

Gajeel let out a groan as he lifted her body off from his effortlessly. "Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

><p>Juvia looked at Gray sternly, her hands balled up into tight fists at her sides as she watched Gray struggle to stay standing before her. "I can't believe you Gray."<p>

The ice mage swayed slightly as he looked at Juvia. "What? What did I do this time?"

"You're completely wasted." She said angrily.

Gray held out his hands to his sides. "So I had a few drinks… what's it to ya?"

Juvia pointed at Gray as she raised her voice. "This was supposed to be a fun weekend! A _FAMILY_ weekend! Not let's get into an argument in front of all our friends then go run into town and get smashed weekend! I can't believe you right now. How could you just leave us to go get wasted at some bar?! Why are you doing this? To me… to yourself, to everyone else?"

Gray pointed an unsteady finger towards his wife, lowering his brows as he spoke, his voice too rising. "Will you just shut up! Me goin' out to have a few drinks don't hurt nobody. This doesn't concern you so just… stay out of my life for once…."

Juvia could feel her magic boiling inside of her, wanting to be unleashed so badly onto the man struggling to stand before her. "THIS DOES CONCERN ME GRAY! I AM YOUR WIFE AND THE MOTHER OF YOUR CHILDREN! IF YOU EVER STOPPED TO TALK TO ME LIKE YOU USED TO, MAYBE I COULD ACTUALLY HELP YOU INSTEAD OF FEELING LIKE IM USELESS!"

Gray glared hard at Juvia, ignoring what she had just said. "No, I don't need to explain myself to you."

Juvia groaned as she brought her hands to the side of her head. "Why are you so stubborn Gray?! I just…" The water mage let her hands fall to her sides as she let out a sigh, her head looking away from her drunken husband. "I just don't know what to do anymore…." Solid blue eyes looked back up angrily at Gray whose attention was looking past Juvia. She watched him for a moment before turning around herself to see everyone, with the exception of Leviana, were standing behind her, concerned looks over their faces.

The rain woman looked over their faces slowly. Gajeel and Levy stood midway down the stairs, along with Lucy and Loke a few steps below them. Gaje, Lily, and Leo stood near the bottom of the stairs as Juvia's' own children stood only a few feet away from her. All had the looks of sadness and concern.

"I'm… I'm sorry. Everyone please… just go back to bed." She said as she lowered her head slightly. Hesitantly, the large group in front of her began to disperse back to their rooms, keeping their eyes on Gray and Juvia as they left the room. Lily took a step on the stairs, her hazel eyes catching a glimpse of Finn wrapping his arm around his younger sister as tears flowed from her eyes. She could hear him speaking to her as they walked back to her room on the first floor. Her heart sank for the two of them, thinking back to how her family was torn apart when she was younger. Although her parents were apart in a different situation, Lily could still understand what Finn and Rain could be feeling right now. The dark haired girl let out a soft sigh as she made her way back to the split room she shared with Finn.

* * *

><p>Finn followed his sister into the small room she shared with Leviana who was sound asleep on the bed across from Rain. The siblings sat on the bed, both silent as they sat together. Finn looked at his sister as tears continued to stream down her cheeks. The blue haired boy beside her half smiled as he rubbed Rains' shoulder lightly.<p>

"Everything will be ok Rain."

"You heard mom yelling at him like I did Finn… so how could you say that everything will be ok?"

Finn took hold of Rains' hand, gliding his thumb over the back of it lightly. "I think mom is just stressed that dad keeps in all of his emotions and won't talk to her about this stuff. Everyone has a point that sometimes breaks under pressure or stress. It's unavoidable."

Rain looked up into her brothers solid blue eyes with her own. "I'm scared, Finn…."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"That mom and dad are going to get a divorce and we'll have to split up our family and I won't ever get to see you again."

"Hey, hey…" Finn said softly as he cupped Rains' cheek, whipping away her tears with his thumb. "Don't think like that. I would never let that happen. I'll always be here for you Rain. No one, not even mom and dad, can keep us apart."

Rain sniffled softly as she looked at her brother's smile. "You promise?"

"I always have. And I always will."

The young girl wrapped her arms around her older brother tightly, embracing him as she wept. As the minutes went by, Finn held his sister in his arms until her tears seemed to stop. The young boy let his sister go as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. He looked her over to make sure she wasn't going to start crying once more before he stood. Rain grabbed his wrist as she looked up at him. "Wait, Finn…"

"What is it?" He asked quietly.

"Will you stay with me… until I fall asleep?"

Finn smiled as he let out a soft breath. "Sure." He replied as he lifted up Rains' covers, holding them up so she could get back into bed. He waited until she was settled in before pulling the large blanket over her body, tucking her in lightly and sitting back down on the side of the bed, watching his sister as she held his hand lightly, waiting for sleep to take her.

Leo stood just outside the door, listening in to the talk Finn was having with his sister, smiling slightly to himself as he leaned up against the wall. '_She's lucky to have a big brother like you Finn….'_

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><p>Lily sat on her bed, her hands at her sides as her legs kicked at the air slightly. She sat there silently going over what had happened an hour ago between Gray and Juvia, thinking about how Finn and Rain were taking it all, wishing there was something she could do to help. Her head flung up suddenly as she heard Finn enter his room finally. The older girl quickly stood up and walked quickly towards the thin sheet, peeking her head around the corner to see Finn laying on his bed with his hands over his eyes.<p>

Lily slipped her whole body around the sheet, and without a word, climbed into the bed Finn laid on beside him, taking one of his hands into her own. She watched him intently as he stared up into the ceiling with one eye. He looked tired from being awoken in the middle of the night, and stressed from seeing his parents fight outside of their home. Lily spoke softly as she rubbed his hand with her own. "How's Rain?"

Finn let out a sigh as he moved his hand covering his other eye away from his face. "Upset… but I stayed with her until she fell asleep." Finn crossed his eyebrows as he raised a hand in the air as he talked. "They have never done this before… I mean… yeah they fight at home, but this… this was the worst I've ever seen it. I honestly don't know what's going on anymore between my parents."

Lily could feel her heart sink once more as Finn spoke. She didn't like seeing her closest friend in so much pain, along with his sister who she adored her whole life. "I'm sorry you had to see that Lily…." Hazel eyes looked up into solid blue, not realizing Finn had rolled over to face her. She smiled weakly as she moved closer to Finn, wrapping her arms around him.

"It's ok."

Finn rested his head on top of hers as she held him close. "I just wish things could go back to how they were before. They were so happy…"

Lily stared into Finn's chest, listening to his heartbeat as she spoke softly. "I know. I can remember how happy they were when I was younger."

"The sad thing is… I can't anymore. I know they were once happy together, I mean, all of us. I just… I can't see it anymore….. The memory. And I feel like… I keep making empty promises to Rain anytime our parents get into a fight…"

Before Lily could respond to Finn, loud knocks could be heard at the door with a very dramatic boy on the other side. "Finn! Finn buddy are you in there?! Are you alright?! Talk to me pal!"

Lily sat up along with Finn and sighed. Both saying the younger boys name in unison. "Leo."

Lily shook her head as she stood, walking over to the door and opening it for Leo who looked at her confusingly. "Well you're not Finn."

"And you're supposed to be in your room sleeping. What do you want?"

Leo looked past Lily and saw Finn on the bed. The blonde haired boy pushed past the older girl as he ran to his friend, wrapping his arms around his head tightly as he squeezed. "I was just so worried about _my best friend_ Finn here! I had to come check on him to make sure he was ok!"

Lily walked back over to the two boys with her arms crossed over her chest. "He's fine, you saw him, now go back to your own room!"

Leo grabbed Finn's chin and squeezed, mushing Finn's lips together. "But look at that face! He clearly needs _his best_ friend right now!"

"Yeah and _I'm his best friend_. I can take care of him myself! Now get your lame, lion ass back to your own room!"

Leo stood as he began to bicker with Lily. "Yeah right! Like I'd let a dragon stay with my vulnerable, best friend right now! You've got another thing comin' to ya sister!"

Finn watched the two before him bicker back and forth for a long while. The blue haired boy could feel his lips curling up into a smile as he listened to the two of them. Their arguing slowly stopped as they looked to Finn, seeing him laugh uncontrollably as if someone was tickling him. Both looked at Finn with worried and confused looks over their faces, asking at the same time. "What's so funny?"

Finn looked up at his friends as he wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye. "You two!"

"Us?" They said together once again as they both pointed a finger at their own chests.

"Yeah! You two…" Finn started to say as he stood. The boy wrapped an arm around each of their necks, pulling them in closer to his body. "Are both my best friends! And I love you guys!"

Lily glanced out of the corner of her eye at Finn, rolling her eyes as she heard Leo a moment later starting to sniffle. The blonde haired boy sounded like he was crying slightly as Finn held him in place.

"I love you too man!" Leo said as he brought a fist to Finn's backside, pounding it lightly on his back. Lily scoffed as she folded her arms over her chest.

"You guys are so in love with each other."

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><p><strong>AN: So kinda rough moment there between Juvia and Gray…. And yes, Finn was the one who named Rain. :) all the more reason to fall in love with his cuteness!<strong>

**SHOUTOUT!**

**Please go check out Msktk's fanfics Monster and Iron Gray! Awesome Gajevy stories that promise to excite you, surprise you, and keep you begging for more! ( or at least that's what happens to me lol )**

**Please R&R my story as well! I want to know what you all think of this story with the kids and whats going on between the adults! Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, following, and faving this story! It means a lot to me! ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Chapter 8**

**Ok so this chapter would have been posted last night but I was too tired to finish it up. So anywhos, I also ended up changing some stuff around that I had originally had planned, I still think this is an ok chapter, nothing too exciting or crazy happening…. Next one should be pretty funny/drama filled. I just had to write out this bit so it doesn't seem to be rushed into the next chapter… if that makes sense. Lol hopefully I caught all of the errors in here…. . like I said I was tired while I was writing so if I missed something, I'll go back and get it haha**

**Nyma: haha well, I would like to say that you'll find out soon what happened, but you're absolutely right, I am evil when it comes to these things. Haha I know, the drama and funniness will be coming soon within the next couple of chapters. :)**

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><p>Sunday morning had finally arrived, only hours after the fight Juvia had with Gray. Finn was last to wake up as the sun peaked through his window onto his face, waking him up late into the morning. The young boy moaned as he moved his hands over his eyes, shielding them from the bright light. He could hear someone calling up to him, telling him to get a move on, but his body told him to stay in bed. He didn't want to go downstairs and see everyone. He was afraid of what he might see. Is everyone going to remember what happened last night? Or are they going to pretend that it never even happened? Hell knows he wasn't looking forward to the ride back home. Finn groaned once more as he forced himself to sit up, rubbing his eyes with the back of his wrist as they adjusted to the bright light.<p>

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><p>"Look here kid, just because you cheated yesterday in the game by using yer solid script magic to make me slip and fall on my ass, allowing you kids to win, doesn't mean you get to eat the last of the French toast!" Gajeel growled as he stabbed the last piece of cinnamon bread with his fork. Lily leaned over the table slightly to stab the same piece of bread with her own eating utensil as she glared at her father.<p>

"I'm not a kid anymore, dad. And we won that game fair and square. It's not my fault you're gettin' _old_." She said with a smirk. Gajeel could feel his jaw drop in disbelief that his own flesh and blood had called him old. Lily took this opportunity and snatched away the last piece of toast right from under Gajeel's' fork, forcing a large bite into her mouth and proceeded to chew it obnoxiously.

Gajeel slammed his fist on the table. "God damn it Lily! Why are you such a brat!?"

"I told you I'm going to go to band practice when we get home if we won the game, you're just being a sore, old loser! This has nothing to do with me being a brat!"

Levy walked out carrying a hot plate filled with more French toast on it. "Will you two please stop fighting! Gajeel you did make a promise to Lily that if the kids won the game yesterday, she could go to band practice when we got home. And Lily! You are being a brat towards your father, so both of you knock it off."

Gajeel and Lily both looked away in opposite directions with their arms folded across their chests, mumbling their responses to Levy at the same time under their breath.

"Yes mom…."

"Yes Shrimp…."

Levy smiled as she placed the plate in the middle of the table. "Good. Now make sure you save some for Finn. He's still sleeping."

"Speaking of sleeping… has anyone see Juvia or Gray at all since… well… you know…" Lucy asked as she looked around the table. Everyone's eyes shifted downward, not wanting to bring up what had happened last night. Leviana looked around the table confused as she ate her breakfast.

"What happened last night?" She asked.

Lily looked at her younger sister as she bit into another piece of toast. "Nothing that concerns you twerp."

Leviana grew angry at Lily and was about to deliver her response to her older sister when her hazel eyes caught sight of Finn entering the room. The small blue haired girl gasped as she left her seat quickly, running over to Finn and hugging him tightly. "Finn! Come sit next to me! I saved you a seat! Also, were you in my room last night?! I could smell you everywhere in there this morning!"

Finn half smiled as he let Leviana drag him to the table, looking up at the faces around him as they stared. He knew they had remembered what happened, wishing they would stop looking at him so worriedly. As Finn sat down, he looked over to Leviana and smiled. "Yeah I was there last night. I was just checking up on you and Rain."

The small girl gasped as she blushed slightly. "You were?!"

Finn closed his eyes happily as he grinned. "Yep. Even gave you a little kiss on your cheek to make sure you had good dreams."

Leviana brought her hands to her warm cheeks, turning her body back and forth slightly as her thoughts ran wild. Leo leaned in from the other side of Finn and whispered. "Nice save there dude. But in all seriousness… are you ok?"

Finn opened his eyes and glanced around the table once more. "I'm fine. Really."

Leo let out a sigh as he sat back down in his seat. "Oh thank god… caz lemme tell ya… if you weren't… I honestly didn't know what I was going to do."

Finn laughed slightly as he tapped Leo on the shoulder. "Thanks man."

Leo looked at him seriously and shook his head. "No, really…. I didn't know what I was going to do."

Finn's eyes leveled as he stared at his friend. "You are the worst friend ever…."

Finn's solid blue eyes looked across the table to Rain who stood from her seat. He watched her walk away from the table, heading back towards her room. Lucy looked at her plate and then to the girl who walked away. "Poor thing… she barely touched anything on her plate."

"Maybe someone should go talk to her, make sure she's ok." Levy said quietly.

"This is what usually happens after they fight." Finn said as he looked down at his own silver plate. Everyone turned their heads to Finn now. "After they fight at night… in the morning, Rain usually never eats anything anymore." The blue haired boy looked back up at everyone, his eyes widening as he raised his hands, waving them nervously in front of him. "But don't worry, she will get hungry later. I promise she's not starving herself or nothing like that."

Leo slammed his hands on the table, a determined look over his face. "This is unacceptable! The gorgeous and radiant Rain should not have to suffer through this alone!"

Finn narrowed his eyes as he looked to Leo. "She's not alone in her suffering…"

The blonde haired boy ignored Finn as he continued to speak loudly. "It is up to me to go make her feel happy again! It's my duty as her future lover!"

Loke suddenly spit out his drink all over the table as Lucy began to choke on her breakfast at Leo's sudden confession. Gajeel let out a booming laugh as he slapped Loke in the back. "Do you hear your son, carrot top?!"

Lucy turned her head to Loke as she put her hands on her hips. "And I would like to know where he got such an idea in his head…."

Loke looked at Lucy worriedly, pointing a finger at himself. "You think that was me who told him to say that?!"

"Well where else is he picking it up from?! Finn doesn't have a girlfriend, er… no offense Finn…" Finn's cheeks grew red as he sunk lower into his seat, Leo snickering at his side. Lucy looked back to Loke and continued. "And I don't know of any other guy friends that boy has! So who else am I supposed to think told him!"

Loke held out his hands in front of him as he spoke back to Lucy. "He's only fourteen! I know he is learning about all this stuff in school, but I haven't said one word about girls and… well…" Loke's face began to glow red as he became more flustered by the second. "The things that could lead up to other things…."

Gajeel's laughter filled the room as Loke and Lucy argued about what they have talked about with their son. Lucy glared over at Gajeel and pointed at him as well. "What about you Gajeel? Ever have the "talk" with Lily?"

The iron dragon slayer stopped laughing and looked over to his wife who crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her fingers on her arm lightly. "Yes, Gajeel. Did you have the talk with our daughter like I told you to?"

Gajeel rubbed the back of his thick mane, his crimson eyes shifting away from angry gazes. "I… was gonna get around to it… when we got back… home…"

Lily rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh. "I think I'm old enough to know about sex."

Levy and Gajeel both blushed slightly at the mention of the intimate word that left their daughters mouth, their mouths open slightly. Lily looked at them both and shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing. "What? I'm just sayin…. I'm eighteen. I know what sex is all about."

Gajeel stood suddenly and pointed a large finger at his daughter. "Y-you better not have done anything with that stupid idiot boyfriend of yours yet! You're still too young! And I don't need you gettin' knocked up by that loser!"

Lily stood and made fists at her sides as she leaned in towards her father. "It's none of your business what I've done with Chrono yet! And for your information, no! I haven't gone that far yet!"

Leo grinned as he nudged Finn's side, whispering. "You still have a chance to be each other's firsts! How cute!"

Finn shot Leo a jab with his own arm. "Shut. Up. Leo."

Lily growled as she turned and headed out of the room. "I'm going to pack my stuff up."

Levy let out a sigh after a minute, sitting down in her chair to eat. "Well this has been quite the morning."

Gajeel sat back down and clenched his fist tightly. "Ooh.. that girl… she better hope that pathetic excuse for an ice mage don't ever touch her body or so help me… I'ma kill em!"

Finn watched as Gajeel sank his fangs into another piece of toast, ripping it to shreds within a matter of seconds. He swallowed the sudden lump his throat. Leo slowly leaned in and whispered once more. "Or on second thought… maybe you should just give up on her now… if Gajeel ever found out that you and her hooked up, there'd be nothing left of ya!"

Finn stood quickly and headed out of the room. "Um… I'm going to go pack as well."

Leo called back to his friend as he leaned back in his chair. "I was just kidding Finn!"

Finn ran back up the stairs, playing out multiple scenes in his head where Gajeel was tearing him a new one. '_Yeah right! That man would have my head on a spike if I ever got with Lily!'_

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><p>As Finn came back down the stairs some time later, he caught a glimpse of his mother entering the house, anger over her face. His mind played back the early hours of the morning when he came down to see his parents fighting, replaying what was said between the two of them. As he neared Juvia, he could see she had been crying again. The tear stains down her pale cheeks were still fresh. Juvia wiped her face with a tissue as she looked at her son.<p>

"Ah, Finn. There you are. Your father and I have been looking for you and your sister. The van is almost packed up, we just need your things along with Rains bags."

Finn stopped just in front of his mother, looking her over closely. He could tell she barely got any sleep the night before, probably from staying up until his father came home, only to fight with him and have everyone else in the house find out. The ice mage felt sorry for his mother. He didn't like seeing her deal with Gray this way, but knew she was doing the best she could, for his and Rains sake. She was trying to keep this family together, and he knew that. Finn wrapped his arms around Juvia, hugging her tightly.

Juvia looked down at the boy hugging her in surprise. "Is everything alright Finn?"

"I just… wanted to thank you mom."

"For what, sweetie?" Juvia asked as she placed her hands over his blue hair and shoulder. Finn let her go and looked up into her solid blue eyes with his own.

"Nothing… I don't know what I'm talking about I guess." Finn said with a half-smile. Juvia sighed softly as she smiled back, taking Finns face into her hands.

"Go put your bag in the van, then come say your goodbyes. I'll go get Rain."

Finn nodded as he left his mother inside. His smile faded as he saw his father in the driver's seat already. His hand propped up on the window, holding a lit cigarette. Finn opened the door and set his bag in, chancing a glance up at his father. Gray was watching him intently through the rear view mirror, his gaze unwavering. The young boy wanted nothing more than to shout out how everything was his father's fault. He wanted to tell him off, how horrible a father he was to him and Rain, how he failed to be a true husband to his mother… but what would that do? Finn looked away from the icy gaze he was receiving.

'_What could I say to make him feel what mom is feeling? What Rain and I are feeling? He wouldn't listen to any of us… he's that thick headed… that stubborn…. With my luck he'd end up pushing me harder in training.'_

"Hey! Ice boy!"

Finn looked up and around at the familiar voice calling to him. Lily was grinning from ear to ear as she walked up to her friend, her hands in her back pockets of her torn up black jeans. "So later tonight… you should come to our practice."

"Why? I thought Chrono doesn't like other people to watch you guys practice."

Lily smirked as she leaned to one side. "Like that fool is in charge of the band. It may have started out as his, but I'm taking it over. Even thought about renaming it."

"I don't think Chrono will go along with this Lil…"

"Pssh.. he will. Or else I'm out of the band. I'll quit and start up my own. Then he'd be screwed out of a singer. So come on! Come watch us play!"

Finn rubbed the back of his head as he shifted his eyes away from hers. "Lil… I don't know…"

Lily brought her hands up to her chin, cupping them together as she gave Finn the biggest, saddest looking face she could muster up. "Pleeeeaaase? Pretty pleeeeasse? For me?"

Finn looked back at the girl begging in front of him. A blush came over his cheeks as he smiled slightly. "O-ok… I'll be there."

"Yay! I can't wait to see you there!" Lily said as she started walking back towards the house, waving a hand at Finn. Finn waved a hand back as he watched her disappear into the house and his mother and Rain come out. The boy turned around to come face to face with Gray, making Finn jump back slightly.

"How long have you been standing there like a creep?!" Finn said angrily.

"Were you going to bother asking if you could go watch her practice tonight?"

Finn looked down as he spoke. "Y-yeah… I was…"

Gray threw down his cigarette, putting his shoe over it and squishing it into the ground. "You're a horrible liar Finn. Now get in the car."

Finn scoffed under his breath as he turned to head for the side of the van, stopping a moment later as Gray spoke. "Oh and, you're not going to her practice tonight. You're going to be too busy training with me."

Finn clenched a fist tightly as he stood in place. An icy aurora began to form around his closed fist as he shook in anger. Gray raised his voice as he spoke. "Did you hear me?" The icy mist disappeared just as quickly as it formed as Finn turned his head over his shoulder.

"I heard you."

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><p>Lily's eyes widened as she reached her room, completely forgetting that she didn't give Finn a time and place of her band practice. The dark-haired girl raced back down the stairs flinging the door back open, taking a step out of the door frame before she stopped in her tracks, over hearing the last bit of conversation between Gray and Finn. Lily could feel her heart sink down to her stomach as she heard the anger in their voices, seeing the rage building and then quickly fading in Finn. Lily took a few more steps out as Finn climbed into the van, turning his head back slightly to see his friend standing outside. His expression was one of sorrow, as if he was saying he was sorry for not being able to make it out to see her at practice and sorry she had to witness what just unfolded.<p>

The older girl watched as the sad family closed the doors to the van they were all in, slowly making their way back to their home. Levy walked out of the large getaway house with an arm full of bags. She set them down beside their car and let out a breath.

"Did Juvia and them just leave?" She asked questionably. Without turning to her mother, Lily responded.

"Yeah… they just left."

Levy raised a brow as she unlocked the back of their vehicle. "That's weird. Gray and Finn never came back in to say goodbye. Wonder if Gray was pushing them to get on the road." Lily looked down angrily, growling to herself. Levy looked at her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lily? What's wrong?"

Lily brushed Levy's hand away, storming back inside the house, leaving Levy to watch her confused and slightly worried. "I swear that girl is just like her father…."

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><p>Leviana pushed open the door to the house, yelling at the top of her lungs. "PANTHERLILY! WE'RE HOME!" She shouted excitedly as she threw down her bag and immediately jumped onto the couch as she giggled. A minute later, the black exceed came into the picture with a smile on his face as he flew into the room.<p>

"Did everyone have a good time?" He asked as he landed on top of the couch.

Leviana leaned in close to the cat, rattling off everything that had happened rapidly. The exceed laughed slightly as Leviana spoke, looking over to the door and watching Gajeel and Lily once again bickering as they set foot into the house. Levy and Gaje right behind them, both letting out a soft sigh.

"Oh and Auntie Juvia and Uncle Gray got into a fight apparently… but I don't know what really happened because I was asleep the whole time. Oh! And we beat daddy in-game of flag football! He says Lily cheated and that she shouldn't be allowed to go to band practice, but Lily says he's getting too old, so they have been fighting ever since we left the house!"

Pantherlily looked to Gajeel and Lily as he put his paws at his sides. "Well that part doesn't seem to surprise me… but the whole thing with Juvia and Gray does."

Levy set a bag down beside the couch as she began talking to the exceed. "Yeah it was weird, and totally unexpected. But there's not much we can do right now. They are going to have to work it out themselves."

Pantherlily rubbed under his chin as he thought silently. His thoughts interrupted rudely by Lily's growing voice.

"I'm going because we won the game! I have to go practice for our gig Wednesday night and I want to talk to Chrono about prom! It's coming up this weekend and we've got nothing planned out yet! I don't have time to sit here and argue with you dad. So give me the keys."

Gajeel grinned as he stood up straight. "What makes you think I'd give you the keys to my car, let you go practice for your gig, and discuss the prom with your dumbass boyfriend, trusting that you'd come back home all before the early hours of the morning."

Lily stomped her foot on the ground. "Ugh! You're so not fair right now!"

Gajeel raised his voice as Lily stormed off to her room. "That's life kid! Better get used to it!"

Pantherlily flew over to his friend, a half-smile on his face. "Did you really have to say all of that Gajeel? Why not let her go out tonight."

"You don't know what I had to deal with this weekend. So no she ain't goin' out!"

"What if I can talk to her and get her to apologize? Would you let her go then?" Asked the small exceed. Gajeel raised a studded brow at his cat, looking him over long and hard.

"You think you can get her to apologize, good luck." The iron dragon slayer said as he waved a hand towards Pantherlily. The exceed smiled as he flew away, heading towards Lily's room. Gajeel mumbled to himself as he lifted up the bags Levy had placed inside and walked them to their room, passing Leviana and Gaje who sat on the couch.

"You know she probably sneaked through her window again." The young boy said as Gajeel walked past him. The iron dragon slayer stopped in his tracks a few steps away from where Gaje sat on the couch with a book in his face. His fists clenched the bags tightly as he turned slightly, his head facing his son.

"What was that Gaje?"

"That's what she usually does when she doesn't get her way. She usually goes storming off to her room, then gets out through the window, either getting Chrono to pick her up or running to someone else to get a ride. I'm just saying, that's probably what she is doing right now."

Gajeel dropped his bags, quickly making his way to Lily's room and pushing open her door quickly. He stood in the doorway, his hand still clenching the doorknob as he looked towards the girls' bed. Lily was sitting there talking to Pantherlily, looking up at her father immediately as he so rudely came into her room.

"What do you want now dad?"

Gajeel stood up straight as he coughed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh… nothin'. Just… just makin' sure yer still here."

Lily shook her head with a bit of an attitude thrown towards Gajeel. "Where else would I be right now? You told me I couldn't go out to band practice."

"I.. I know that! I'm just makin' sure you didn't try to sneak out of the house is all."

"Yeah, caz that's what I do dad…. Seriously… you're so annoying." She said as she rolled her eyes, leaning back on her arms as she readjusted in her seat on the bed. Gajeel growled and closed the door quickly. Standing just outside for a moment to make sure she wasn't lying to him, that she was actually going to stay in for the night. As soon as he heard the two talking once more, he grinned and nodded to himself, making his way back down the stairs.

Lily pressed her ear against the door, listening to her father's large and heavy foot stomps leaving her doorway. She grinned as she rushed back to her bed, lifting up the blanket that came over her mattress, and pulling out a change of clothes. Pantherlily let out a sigh as he watched her.

"You know, if you just said that you were sorry to Gajeel, he might still let you go. You would even have the car."

Lily began to change beside her bed, looking at Pantherlily with a look. "Yeah right. Even if I did say that I was sorry to that old man, he still would be like, you have to stay home tonight caz you cheated, blah blah blah. He has never changed, Lily. He never will."

"Maybe he just misses the young girl who loved her father." The exceed said as he flew over to Lily's desk, looking at an old photo of Gajeel and Lily. He was holding her on his shoulders, her arms thrown up into the air, both having a wide smile over their faces. Lily looked over to where Pantherlily was, noticing he was remembering that day.

"That was a long time ago. And… it's not like I don't love him anymore… he just… I don't know. He's just super annoying now."

Pantherlily looked back at the girl he cared for her whole life as she pulled her hair out from her newly put on t-shirt. She began to pull her hair back into a braid as she sat back down on the bed. "It's not like it's always my fault he's so mean to me."

Pantherlily flew back over to the bed and helped Lily tie her braid. "But most of the time it is. He cares about you Lily. You need to make sure you're not always blind to see that."

Lily's hazel eyes cast down as she listened to the words of the exceed behind her. She knew he was right, as usual. She never could figure out when things had changed between her and her father. She could still remember how much of a daddy's girl she was, how she rarely listened to her mother, and always agreed to whatever Gajeel said, not giving it a second thought. But now that she was older, she felt like they were constantly butting heads, unable to get back what they used to have all those years ago.

Lily looked over her shoulder to Pantherlily as he tied the last bit of hair in a red ribbon. "You promise to cover for me while I'm gone?"

Panther smiled as he put his hands on his sides. "When have I ever broken a promise to you?"

Lily turned around quickly and hugged Pantherlily tightly, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You're the best!"

As Lily let the dark exceed go, he watched her grab her jacket, throwing it over her shoulders as she made her way to her window, opening it slowly and quietly. As she climbed out, Pantherlily spoke.

"Just make sure you come home a bit earlier tonight! You've got school in the morning! And be careful!"

Lily's head was the only thing visible at her window. A toothy grin over her face as she spoke back to the exceed. "You don't have to worry bout me Lily. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

Pantherlily shook his head as he smiled, watching the girl's head disappear down below. "I'm always going to worry about you Lily. It's what people do when they care for someone."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Chapter 9**

**Thanks to my car being a butt, I was able to write another chapter for this week lol. On a side note, after chapter 10 is posted, I will FINALLY be able to do another time skip to where they are all older. And then things will really start heating up. I honestly didn't plan on staying on the teenagers as long as I did. I'm kinda glad I did, because you really get to see the relationships all of the parents have with the kids, or the relationships between all of the kids. Anywhos! Enjoy this chapter, I find it pretty funny. :)**

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><p>Finn fell onto is bed, the week so far taking a toll on his body and mental state. Gray had increased his training on top of all of the work he had to do for classes. He didn't have much time to talk to anyone, not even his two best friends. He knew Lily had a gig tonight and wanted to go, but was too exhausted to move from his bed. The young ice mage started to close his eyes, finding it harder and harder to keep them open as he stared at the ceiling. He thought he could he could hear the start of another fight downstairs. Finn managed to roll his body over, his eyes opened slightly, not caring about what was going on down there.<p>

'_It's gotten worse ever since we got home on Sunday… dad has been drinking more and when mom comes home and sees him… she immediately blows up at him. And then that gets him all mad and he proceeds to take it out on me through training…'_

Finn's eyes shut lightly as he continued his thoughts. '_I bet Lily is having a good time at her gig right now… I wish I could be there for it…. Wonder if she ever got Chrono to change the name of the band… I'll have to talk to her tomorrow at school….'_

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><p>The hour was late as Finn's phone began to go off. The ice mage looked around at first, trying to figure out what the noise was coming from, not processing it through his head at first that it was indeed his phone. The blue haired boy sat up with a groan, rubbing his head as he walked over to his phone on his desk. Half open and tired eyes glared down at the phone, trying to see who was calling him at this hour. Finn shook his head slightly as he hit the answer button, pulling the phone slowly up to his ear.<p>

"Lil? Why are you calling me so late?" He managed to ask as he ran his hand over his tired eyes.

"Finn…"

Finn's eyes suddenly awoke faster as he heard Lily on the other side. She sounded upset, like she had been crying. "Lily, are you ok? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Finn…" The girl said as she sniffled, trying to hold back a sea of tears to try to talk to her friend. "Chrono…. Chrono just broke up with me!"

Finn stood in place for a long minute, his mind trying to process what she just said. _'He… broke up with her? But why? I thought they were supposed to go to prom together this weekend. What the hell happened?!'_

"Wait… what? He… broke up with you?" Finn asked as he moved back to his bed, taking a seat slowly. Lily yelled back into the phone at her friend out of anger and hurt.

"Yes! Are you not listening to me?!"

"I-I'm sorry, Lil… it's just… really late at night. I mean you just woke me up." Finn said as he rubbed the back of his head as his eyes glanced over at his clock.

"Time doesn't matter right now! I need you to come over! I need my best friend…." The older girl said quietly.

Finn let out a sigh as he fell back onto his bed. "Can it wait until tomorrow? We've got school in the morning…and not to mention Lily.. I don't have a car yet."

Lily sniffled on the other end, thinking about what Finn told her. The ice mage could feel himself falling asleep as he held the phone to his ear as he waited for her answer.

"Ok.. just.. just come over right after school, ok?!"

"Ok…" He replied, slowly slipping away back to sleep.

"Finn! Do you promise?!"

"Mhmm…"

A long pause came from her end as she listened closely to her friend over the phone. "Are you… falling asleep while you're on the phone with me?! Seriously Finn?! I just told you horrible news and you're falling back to sleep on me! Hey! Finn! Wake up! Don't you dare fall back to sleep!"

Finn had let his hand fall away from his ear, not hearing Lily yelling at him through the phone.

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><p>Finn placed one of his books into this locker, switching it out for another. He had barely gotten much sleep from the night before, between his parents yelling all night and Lily's constant phone calls, the boy received very little shut eye. The ice mage closed his locker, turning his body to place his new book into his bag when Leo came walking up behind him, a grin on his face as he leaned up against the lockers beside Finn.<p>

"Guess who just got asked to the senior prom?" He said with a sly look on his face.

Finn turned to face Leo, the expression on his face causing Leo to jump back slightly. "Whoa… what the hell happened to you?! You look like shit… and not the normal looking like shit, like… worse than normal." Leo placed his hands on either side of Finn's shoulders. "Talk to me buddy."

"I barely got any sleep… thanks to my parents fighting, Lily calling me all night crying over Chrono breaking up with her and then yelling at me because I would fall asleep while on the phone…"

"Whoa, wait, back up…. Did you just say… Chrono _broke up_ with Lily? Why?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders as he started walking to class. "Beats me… well.. I guess she tried to tell me, I just couldn't stay awake. I was going to talk to her today. I'm assuming she didn't show up since she told me to come over to her place after school."

Leo walked quickly to catch up to Finn. "Wait, so this means she's single, right?!"

"I guess, Leo. That's usually what a break up means for people."

"Dude! You so have a chance now! Make your move!"

"What are you talking about?" Finn said as he glared at his friend, the bags under his eyes giving off a scarier vibe as he glared, sending shivers down Leo's spine.

"Ew… you should really just go home and get some sleep. You honestly look like crap." Leo shook his hands and head as he fought with himself to stay on track with what he was saying to Finn. "Look, she's vulnerable, she's gonna need someone to fill in that hole that was left behind from the break up! That's where you come in ol' buddy! We just gotta cover up those bags under your eyes, dress you up all nice and maybe get ya some flowers to give to her and bam! In the bed you go with your dragon lady."

Finn rolled his eyes as he adjusted his bag on his shoulder. "As much as I would love to believe that's how break ups work, that's highly unlikely to happen Leo."

"Hey, all I'm sayin' is that I've helped with a ton of break ups. Most leading to one thing at the end of the day."

Finn stopped and looked into Leo's olive-green eyes. "Have you ever had sex before? Be honest with me."

Leo grinned as he pulled down his blue-tinted glasses over his eyes. The blonde haired boy began to walk backwards away from Finn to his class that was nearby. He pointed a finger at Finn as he spoke. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Finn thought for a long minute before he frowned and shook his head. "No… I really don't want to know." Finn walked a bit further to his next class, entering it with his head down as he instinctively walked to his desk, sitting down and leaning back in the chair, letting his head hang back a bit as his eyes closed.

'_What if he was right? What if Lily is as vulnerable as he says…? Would she even want to do that sort of thing? As far as I know, she didn't get that far with Chrono…'_

Finn groaned as he forced his body forward, his arms crossing over the small desk as he set his head down on top of them. The ice mage closed his eyes half way, a slight blush coming over his cheeks as his mind ran wild with thoughts.

Lily sat on the bed next to Finn, her fingers tracing circles over his bare chest as she looked up slowly into his solid blue eyes. "Oh Finn… I'm so sorry for the way I've been this past year. I don't know what I ever saw in Chrono… you're the only one I should ever be with."

Finn grabbed her hand gently, cupping her cheek with his other hand. "It's ok Lil. You know I'm always going to be here for you."

Lily looked at him with eyes glazed over. "Finn…I wish there was a way I could repay you… for being such a good friend to me all these years…"

Finn smiled. "It's alright Lil. You don't have to do anything for me."

Lily brought a finger to Finn's cool lips, silencing him further as she pushed Finn lightly back onto the bed. The dark haired girl moved her body so that she was now straddling his hips, leaning in close to him, letting her black hair fall around her face. A grin appeared over her lips as she stared into his eyes. "Please… let me do this. For everything that I've put you through, you deserve this Finn."

Lily licked his bottom lip slowly before nipping at it lightly. The younger boy moved his hands down to Lily's hips, gripping them lightly as she began to move her body against his. Her soft lips pressed against his lightly as she ran her hands over his chest. Before Finn could explore her mouth with his tongue, her warm lips left his, trailing kisses down his jawline to his earlobe, nibbling at it teasingly. Finn could feel himself growing beneath Lily's form, wanting nothing more than to take control in this situation.

As Lily continued to nibble on his ear, sucking on it lightly, Finn's hands moved up from her hips, tracing over her skin tight clothes to her chest, gripping each breast with his hands. The sudden touch from the boy beneath her caught Lily off guard; her body arching up as she let out a soft moan. Finn took his chance and flipped her over on her back, his body now towering over hers.

He pressed his arousal against her as he leaned his head in to kiss her neck furiously. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she whispered his name into his ear. "Finn…Finn…"

Finn gripped either side of the bed as he continued to rock his body into hers. "Lily… you don't know how badly I want this right now…"

"Finn…Fullbuster…"

Finn slowed his motions slightly as he smiled. "What?" He asked confusingly.

"Finn Fullbuster!"

The blue haired boy's head shot up as he looked up at his instructor, standing beside his desk. The woman tapped her foot on the ground as she held a clipboard in her hands. "Uh.. sorry… I just… I didn't sleep well last night."

"I see. Well welcome back to the class. I hope that my lecture won't bore you to sleep." She said as she made her way back to the front of the class room. "This will be on your tests next week so I suggest you stay awake for the notes."

Finn sighed as he looked around at his other classmates as they snickered at him. The young boy slumped down in his seat, opening up his textbook and hiding his face in it as his instructor spoke to the rest of the class.

'_God damn you Leo… why did you have to put those thoughts into my head… now this is all I'm going to think about!'_

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><p>Gajeel growled as he paced back and forth in his bedroom. Levy watched him as she held a book in her hands. "Will you just calm down? I told her it was ok to stay home for the day."<p>

"Oh so she gets a broken heart and she gets to stay home from school?!" The iron dragon slayer said angrily as he stomped around the room.

"It's one day Gajeel… one day won't kill her grades. Can't you just be happy that they aren't together anymore?"

Gajeel stopped and pondered the thought for a moment. "Yeah but still… if she didn't have you here, I would have sent her ass to school. No excuses."

Levy let out a soft sigh as she set down her book. "It was her first boyfriend ever, Gajeel. You just don't understand what a girl goes through when she gets dumped by a guy she's been dating for a long time."

"Yeah well… still… she's got a part of me in her so she should just roll it off her shoulders and concentrate fully to school now."

"Just like you did when you were younger?"

Gajeel turned to face Levy. "That's why I want her to stay away from boys! She needs to stay on the right path so she doesn't follow in my footsteps!"

"You know if you keep forcing her to do something, she's probably going to go do the opposite of what you want. She needs to live her life her way, make her own choices and mistakes."

Gajeel let a low growl escape his throat as he began to pace again. "That's why I'm tellin' her to do what I want her to do! So she doesn't have to make the mistakes!"

Levy sighed once more as she brought her book back up to her face. "I won't tell you I told you so when she does something opposite of what you want."

Just as Gajeel was about to talk back to Levy, he stopped pacing, listening carefully. Levy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Someone's here… I'll be back." Gajeel said as he left their room, heading for the front door.

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><p>Finn stood outside the door, kicking at the stone lightly with his worn out shoe. <em>'Wonder if she is even here. With my luck she could have already talked things over with Chrono and got back together with him….'<em> The boy's head came up quickly as the front door opened a couple minutes after he knocked. Gajeel stood before Finn, a studded eye brow raised as he looked over the small boy at his doorstep.

"Finn? What brings you here?"

"I-I… uh, just brought Lily her homework… from her teachers."

"Oh… alright.. come on in. Pouty pants is upstairs in her room." Gajeel said as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder, stepping back a few steps to allow the young boy inside. Finn thanked him as he walked in, taking his shoes off before quickly making his way up to his friends room.

The ice mage took a deep breath as he stared at Lily's door, his fist hesitating to knock. _'At least I know she's home… and from the sounds of it… still hasn't gotten back together with Chrono…' _His thoughts from earlier that day came into his mind as he imagined Lily laying on her bed, her hands at either side of her head, her hazel eyes glazed over as she looked up into his. Finn's eyes widened as he shook his head. '_Stay focused! Don't think about that caz you're her friend. And right now that's what she needs….' _Finn's expression turned to determination as he stared at the wooden door. He knocked twice and then paused as he heard Lily's sad voice from the room.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Finn. Can I come in Lil?"

"Yeah…"

Finn smiled slightly as he opened the door slowly, his smile fading as he looked around the room. Lily had definitely gone through some emotional stages while she was in here. She had taken every picture she had of Chrono, burning his face out of everyone, or tearing it to shreds. Anything he had given her was ripped up, broken, or simply thrown out in her garbage. Her bed was cluttered with dirty tissues and empty cartons of ice cream she had eaten throughout the night and part of the day. Finn looked to the girl curled up in her blankets on the bed. She looked like she hadn't slept at all, with bags under her eyes, what was left of her makeup smeared and running down her cheeks, her wild, dark hair even more of a mess than usual. She wore a dark green tank top with pajama pants to match with one of her straps half way down her arm. The sad girl looked up at Finn as she shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"Heey… how are you doing Lil?" Finn said softly as he closed the door behind him, setting his bags down by her desk. "I brought your homework home for you." Finn looked around the room for a place to sit, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Without a word, Lily pushed off a pile of tissues, and empty ice cream cartons onto the floor from her bed, motioning him to sit down. "Have you even left the house at all today?"

Lily leaned back against her head board as she took her spoon out of her mouth. "No… I didn't feel like it. I just want to stay in here and rot."

Finn half smiled as he looked at Lily. "You don't mean that."

Lily threw her hands at her sides as she whined. "Yes I do! That jerk face is a total idiot and I hate him!" Tears began to form in hazel eyes as she spoke, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "Where does he get off thinking he is the one in charge of the band?! _I'm_ the singer,_ I_ made us what we are today… and if_ I_ want to change the name of the band, then I should be able to damn it!"

Finn watched as tears flowed down her slightly tanned cheeks, wanting to comfort her. "It's just not fair… we were happy together and now this… I mean look at me! I'm a complete mess and it's all his fault! All I wanted was to change the name of the band but noo! It's not up to me! Since he was the one to form it, he has complete control. Uugh! I hate him! I hate his filthy, stinking guts! He's an asshole and I never want to see him again! I mean, who breaks up with another person over something so stupid like that!?"

Finn watched as Lily stuffed her face with ice cream, wondering if she was ever going to get a brain freeze. "So… you don't think you'll get back together with him?"

Lily stopped shoveling ice cream into her mouth, lowering her hands slowly as Finn's question rolled around in her brain. Her expression softened as she spoke. "I don't know… part of me still loves him… but at the same time…" The ice mage leaned back a little as he could swear he could see flames coming off of the girl in bed. "I want to shove my fist down his throat and then used my solid script magic to burn his heart to ashes!"

"That's… a little harsh there Lil…"

Lily's head went back on her wooden head board as she let out a groan. "I knooow… I just… I'm so angry… and hurt right now… I mean.. he was my first boyfriend and it lasted for over a year… I just… I thought he was going to be the one." Lily closed her eyes halfway as she spoke. "I guess I was wrong…."

Finn looked away from her, his eyes cast down as he thought of something to say. His eyes caught a glimpse of something on the floor, causing Finn to bring his head back up with a smile. "Say… I know what will cheer you up."

Lily looked at him confusingly, raising a brow at Finn. "What?"

The ice mage leaned down and picked up some nearby nail polish, waving it up in the air by his face. "I know how much you love me painting your nails. That always makes you feel better, right?"

Lily smiled as she looked at her friend. She tossed aside the ice cream she was holding and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck. "This is why you are my best friend Finn."

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><p>Finn held Lily's foot still as he carefully painted her toe nails as she read through one of her girly magazines. He heard a long sigh leave her as he moved onto her other foot. "What's wrong? Do you not like the color?"<p>

Lily set down the magazine, its pages open to prom dresses being advertised. "No.. It's not that. Chrono was just supposed to take me to the senior prom this weekend… now I can't go because I don't have a date."

Finn laughed slightly as he thought about Leo's conversation they had in the morning, remembering what he had said before he told Finn he looked like shit. "I heard Leo saying something that a girl asked him to go to the senior prom with her. Which I think is kinda weird, I mean he's two years younger than me and he gets to go to a senior prom before me?" Finn said with a laugh.

Lily sat up quickly with a gasp, causing Finn to lean back in shock. "What's wrong?! All I said was Leo was going to prom with an older girl!"

Lily smiled brightly as she leaned in closer to Finn. "That's it!"

"What's it?!"

Lily grabbed Finn's shoulders quickly as she explained herself. "You should go to prom with me! Be my date!"

Finn immediately blushed a bright red as he struggled to get his answer out. "Lily… I… uh-"

"Oh come on Finn! It'll be fun! That way I can still go to prom and as a bonus, you get to hang out with me and… Leo… it's a win win for you!"

Finn looked into her hazel eyes, finding it hard to say no to the girl holding him in place. "Alright. I'll do it."

"Yay! You are the absolute best! Oh my gosh I've got so much to do! Well not really, I already have a dress ordered, I just need to go pick it up. Oh and don't worry about a tux, I'll buy that for you since you're doing me such a huge favor."

Finn's lips curled into a smile as he watched Lily get up from her bed excitedly, walking over to her closet and going through her shoes. "I kinda already have a tux Lily… you don't need to go buy me a new one."

Lily looked back at Finn. "Oh? When did you get a tux?"

Finn waved a hand as he looked away. "It's just something I've had for a while now."

Lily jumped up and down excitedly as she made her way back to Finn who was still sitting on the bed. She gripped his hands in hers as she smiled at him. "I'm serious Finn, thank you so much for this! I means a lot to me."

Finn smiled back as he blushed slightly. "You know me… " He said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'd do anything for you."

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><p><strong>AN: I love Finn. If I haven't said that already, I'm sayin' it again. I love him. :3 he is the sweetest boy I have ever seen lol and Leo has to be the most forward and funniest kid as well. He just says whatever and doesn't give a damn. <strong>

**Please Read and Review! I would like to know your thoughts or feelings about anything/everything. **

**Also be sure to check out Msktk's fanfics, Iron Gray and Monster! **

**Thank you guys for reading and supporting this story! ^_^**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Chapter 10**

**So I would have had this up waaaaay way way sooner, but there are a lot of things that have gone down so here it is. Longer than my normal chapters, and also pretty sad. Funny moments, but sad. It needed to happen caz it's very important. I rushed it a little bit towards the end, and I honestly am not completely pleased with the chapter, but my friend thinks it's good so I'm posting it. I may change it later but we'll see. I really want to get to the next chapters to come because they are going to be better :)**

**Nyma: be prepared. That's all I'm going to say lol.**

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><p>'<em>I can't believe this is happening… Lily and I are going to prom together! I mean what are the odds… once in a million I guess. Man I'm getting so nervous thinking about this. I don't know why. I mean, I do, but… it's Lily… and me…'<em> Finn clenched his fist tightly in determination. _'I have to make my move tonight! I have to tell her how I feel and just lay it all out on the line. She did say she was over Chrono… for the most part….'_

Finn looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, adjusting his dark navy blue tie around his neck, and giving himself one more look over. The ice mage smiled as he smoothed out his dark tuxedo. Solid blue eyes looked up to his blue hair, frowning slightly as he brought the comb up to it, trying to smooth it out to one side. Once the spiky blue hair was neatly combed out, Finn grinned as he stepped out of the bathroom, content on the way he looked. He made his way down stairs, smiling as his mother and sister stood up from the couch, smiles over their faces as well.

"Oh Finn… you look so handsome." Juvia said as she cupped Finn's cheeks in her hands. "Lily is going to be so lucky to have you as her date tonight."

Finn laughed slightly as Juvia planted a kiss on his cheek, turning his attention to his sister who smiled slightly at her older brother, handing him a small white corsage. Finn wrapped an arm around Rains' neck, hugging her lightly and thanking her.

"You do look pretty handsome Finn."

"Yeah… I'm pretty nervous right now. Do you think Lily will like this corsage that I picked out? I mean, I know it's different from her usual favorite colors, but… I just thought it would look really good on her tonight."

Rain laughed lightly as she ruffled Finn's blue hair. Finn moved away from his sister and laughed himself. "Hey! I worked hard on getting my hair to stay down!"

"You look better with it spiking out. Trust me. And I think the corsage is fine. Lily probably will still love it. She's a girl after all."

Finn turned back to his mother who held out her hand with a set of car keys. Finn looked at the keys then back to his mother. "I can have the car tonight?"

"As long as you are back home before one, and don't drink."

"Mom… I'm sixteen. You know I don't drink." Finn took the keys from his mother and headed for the door, turning around as he held up his hand. "Oh, and… is it ok if Leo tags along with me?"

Juvia looked at her son in slight surprise. "Leo is going to prom too?"

Finn turned his head slightly as he looked down at the white corsage in his other hand. "Yeah… I guess some senior thought he was pretty cute. So… is it ok?"

Juvia walked back over to Finn and kissed his forehead. "Of course sweetie. Just be careful with that many people in the car."

"It's just going to be the three of us mom. Promise."

"Have a good time, and make sure everyone gets back home safely! Including yourself!"

"I got it mom!" Finn said as he extended his arm to the front door. As soon as his hand began to turn the knob, Gray stopped Finn with a tight grip on his shoulder. Finn turned his head towards his father.

"Maybe if you stopped worrying about this girl so much, perhaps your magic would be better. That girl doesn't like you the way you like her. I'm tellin' you… don't do this… she's only going to bring you down further."

Finn brushed his father's hand away from his shoulder, lowering his eyebrows angrily. "I know what I'm doing, dad. And she's not the reason why I can't get my magic to improve. I'm going to this prom."

Gray glared at his son as he walked out of the house, stepping into their smaller car and driving off to pick up his friends. As Gray shut the door angrily, he raised his gaze over to Juvia who had her arms crossed over her chest, shaking her head slightly.

Gray held his hands out at his sides slightly. "What?" he said annoyingly.

Juvia moved her head to the side, speaking to Rain lightly. "Rain… please go to your room now." Rain looked to her mother then to her father. Worry was over her face as she hesitated leaving the room. "Please sweetie." The young girl turned quickly and sprinted to her own room, closing her door quickly behind her. Juvia's angry blue eyes were back on Gray in an instant.

"What did I do now? What do you want to yell at me about now, Juvia? Huh? What is it? Am I supposed to ignore the fact that our son will never get better with his magic the more he involves himself with that girl? It's her-"

Juvia began to step towards Gray, holding a finger up in front of her. "Before you start playing the blame game, look to yourself first! I've told you, no, I've been telling you, that you need take it easier on Finn! He won't learn anything the harder you push him!"

"He's not getting anything I am teaching him! Rain seems to get it just fine!"

"It's because you want so much more from that boy! What are you trying to achieve?! Push him until his bones break?! And now you're telling him that there's no chance in hell for him and Lily?! What father says that to their son to their face?" Juvia stopped in front of Gray, shaking her head lightly as she stared into his eyes. "Why won't you just let him have a bit of fun for once?"

Gray raised his voice as he spoke. "Because! Have you seen the way he looks at her? And then the way she treats our son?! It's ridiculous! That boy is stupid and can't take the hint that she doesn't see him like that! He needs to open his damn eyes and I'm trying to help him realize that before he gets his heart broken further!"

Juvia started to match Grays' tone with her own. "That isn't your job as a father! I told you that Finn can go after anyone he wanted. So what if he likes Lily?! I think she's a bright, beautiful girl that might be able to help him."

"Help him how?! Help him find out what lies underneath girls clothing?! I don't see how she could ever help him with his magic! All she can do is distract him from learning."

"Did you honestly just say that about Lily?" Juvia asked as she leaned back, looking Gray over in disgust. "Is that how you truly see her?"

Gray turned around, throwing a hand up in the air. "Well look at her! She's out of Gajeel's control, and if she was my child, I would have taken care of that spoiled brat attitude long ago!"

"But she's not our daughter! Rain and Finn are our children. And you're not exactly father of the year either, Gray."

Gray turned around and glared at Juvia. "It's just like you to say something like that. I know that I'm not perfect, but neither are you!"

"I never said I was! My point is that you are blaming everyone else for everything! You can't man up and own to your responsibilities!"

Gray moved back to Juvia quickly, pointing a finger to his chest. "I do own up to my responsibilities! I'm doing my best to keep this family together!"

Juvia stepped back and shook her head, raising her hands lightly and letting them fall back down to her sides as she looked at Gray. "Are you?"

Gray stood up straight as he stared back at Juvia, speechless. Juvia kept going after a moment of silence between the two. "Do you even still remember why you love me Gray? Why you married me? You could have just told me to give the baby up or left me alone to raise Finn by myself… but you didn't. You told me once that we could do this. That we could raise a happy family together, that nothing could tear us apart. But look at us now. We are constantly fighting, you're pressuring our kids to their limits, you're drinking and you've picked up smoking again, and… we're unhappy."

Gray looked away, clenching his fist lightly. "I… I can make things better again."

"Can you? Can you look at me, in the eyes, and tell me that you can make things better around here for us?" Juvia asked softly.

Grays' silence gave Juvia a clear answer to her question. The water mage sat down on the couch slowly, her blue eyes still on Gray. "It's come down to this then…"

"We can't…."

"Gray…we talked about this. I don't want to either, but… this isn't working, for anyone. I still love you… very much. I just… I can't do this anymore."

Juvia watched Gray for some time as he stood facing away from her in the short distance between them, silence taken over him.

"I can't keep going from day to day, acting like everything is ok between us, or forcing a smile when we go somewhere, pretending we aren't really going through this day and night."

"…What about the kids?" Gray asked softly.

Juvia raised her voice as she spoke once more, tears forming in her solid blue eyes. "I'm doing this for the kids! I don't want to do this! This is what you're making me do! You're not happy, and I don't want to stay with someone who's not happy and… someone who doesn't feel the same way I do…."

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><p>Finn and Leo grinned widely as Lucy held the camera up to her eye, snapping the picture of the two young boys dressed in tuxedos. Lucy brought the camera back down as she looked at both of them, her eyes tearing up slightly. "Look at you two… so handsome. Leo, give me those sun glasses, you're not going to need them tonight." Lucy said as she motioned to the blue-tinted glasses on Leo's blonde head. The young boy looked up at groaned at his mother.<p>

"But mom… they are part of the look I've got goin'. Girls like the way they look on me."

Lucy raised a brow as she held her hand out. "They like the way they look on top of your head?"

"Listen to your mother, Leo. Those shades aren't meant for your hair." Loke said as he put his hands in his pockets as he stood next to Lucy. Leo sighed as he reached up and took hold of his glasses, handing them off to Lucy.

Finn turned to face Leo, pointing a finger at his friend. "We should probably get going. We still have to run over at get Lily."

Lucy looked to Finn with a confused look on her face. "I thought she was meeting you guys over here."

Finn half smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. "She was, but when I called she told me she wasn't ready and then Leviana came into her room and they started arguing while she was still on the phone with me so… I sent her a text and told her I'd come here first."

"Oh… ok then. I really would have like to get a picture with all of you together, but I could just ask Levy to get a good one for me." Lucy said with a smile. The blonde mother made her way to the two young boys and hugged them both tightly. "You two have fun tonight, and don't do anything you shouldn't be doing."

"We won't Auntie Lu. I promise." Finn said as he hugged her back lightly. Leo put his hands behind his head as a smirk appeared over his lips.

"I can promise no such thing tonight mother…." Leo's olive-green eyes were locked in a glance with his mother's chocolate brown death glare, causing the younger boy to think about his statement. As the cold shivers ran down his spine, Leo coughed slightly as he spoke. "I will behave, and not do anything I shouldn't be doing at my young age."

Lucy smiled at her boy as she walked back over to Loke. "Good. Now get going and don't forget to tell Levy to get a picture of all three of you together!"

Leo and Finn waved goodbye as they headed for the door, smiled dawning over their faces as they made their way outside to Finn's car.

"Leo! Wait!" Loke called out as he rushed to catch up with the boys. Finn watched as father and son talked quietly, Loke's arm was wrapped around Leo's shoulders as he spoke.

The blue haired boy raised a brow as he waited patiently for Loke to leave his sons side. A minute later, Loke turned to face his son, patting him on the shoulder and wishing him luck. Leo thanked Loke as he entered the small car.

"So… what was that all about?" Finn asked curiously. Leo grinned brightly at Finn, pulling out his blue tinted shades from his pocket and placing them on top of his head.

"I thought your mom took those!"

"Yeah.. well… my dad can be pretty sneaky when he wants to be."

Finn looked over at Leo in a serious look. "He had another pair, didn't he."

Without looking at his friend, Leo quickly responded with a straight face. "Yes. Yes he did."

"So, what else did he give you?"

"Oh, some money for food and gas… and something else if I just so happen to get lucky with my date."

"Seriously Leo? You think it's gonna go that far tonight?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders as he buckled himself in. "I have no reason to doubt it won't. Now let's get going! Dragon lady is probably ready to go by now!"

Finn let out a sigh as he started the car. "Please don't call her that tonight…. I really just want to go to prom and have a good time."

* * *

><p>Lily groaned as she sat back down in her chair in front of her mirror, cursing having a younger sister as she finished up getting ready for the dance. She moved her head slightly to the side, pulling all of her dark hair over to bring it into one braid. "Leviana is such a brat… I mean does she realize what all I have to do to get ready for this thing?! I can't just have her trying to butt in on my conversation with Finn."<p>

Pantherlily let out a soft puff of air as he watched Lily moving her hands quickly down her hair. "She's just excited to see Finn and Leo. Don't take it too much to heart. She's still just a child."

Lily glared over to Pantherlily, her hazel eyes matching his red eyes. "She's twelve Lily. She's not a kid. She's just jealous of my date tonight." Lily's eyes shifted back to the large mirror, looking over her black hair in the newly made braid. The girl turned her head back and forth, checking each side of her head. Once pleased with the turnout, Lily stood, walking a few steps to her bed and looking over the dark, forest green dress she had picked out for the dance.

"Perhaps she just looks up to her older sister. And maybe you should set a good example while you still live in this house." Pantherlily said as he walked across Lily's bed, picking up the dress and handing it to Lily.

The dark haired girl looked to Pantherlily once more. "If she looked up to me so much, they why is she such a brat to me all of the time?"

The exceed smiled as he turned around, facing away from Lily. "She's just imitating what she sees from her big sister."

A few silent minutes had passed before Pantherlily found himself being lifted by the girl standing behind him. Lily turned him around and glare into his red eyes. "I'm goin' to forget that ya said that… now… tell me how I look." Lily set the small cat back down on the bed and stepped back a few steps, holding her hands out from her body and turning around slowly. Pantherlily smiled once more as he looked on to the very grown up girl before him.

"You look very pretty Lily. Finn will be lucky to have you as his date tonight."

Lily smiled as she looked over to her desk, a picture of the two of them playing together as kids. "Yeah.. he's really a great guy. I owe him so much for taking me to prom tonight."

* * *

><p>Finn and Leo sat on the couch quietly, both waiting for Lily to come down from her room. Levy and Gajeel sat across from them on a separate couch, Levy smiling at the two boys while Gajeel's crimson orbs darted back and forth at the two of them. Leo sat with his arms out wide over the back of the seat; legs crossed over each other. While Finn sat nervously clutching onto the case that held Lily's corsage, he stared at the small coffee table in middle, not taking a chance to meet Gajeel's' hard gaze. Leviana sat next to Gajeel, kicking her legs out quietly as she smiled at the two boys sitting just feet away from her.<p>

"You two look very handsome tonight. And I honestly don't know what's taking Lily so long." Levy said.

Leviana sat up slightly, quickly explaining the situation to her mother. "It's caz Lily took way too long in the shower, and then when I went up there to help her she yelled at me and told me to leave her alone, and then Finn called and I tried to say hi to him and then she yelled at me more and told me she wasn't going to be ready in time if I stayed in her room, so she kicked me out and then yelled at me to not listen in on the conversation she was having with Finn. Oh and then Finn and Leo got here too early and she wasn't ready so now she's makin them wait! She told Pantherlily it keeps guys on their toes to make them wait. I don't get it, but it sounds really smart when Lily says it."

Levy stared at her youngest child for a long minute. "She said… all of that, Leviana?"

The small girl smiled brightly as she spoke. "Yep!"

The script mage let out a sigh as she hung her head down. "I don't know where that girl gets those crazy ideas from. Maybe I should go check on her…"

"Oh my god, please do!" Leo said quickly.

"It's ok! Just give her another minute or two!" Finn said as Leo spoke. The two boys looked at each other, Leo clearly looking annoyed.

"Dude… did you forget my date is waiting at the dance? I can't sit here all night caz your date is playing the waiting game with us."

Finn's cheeks flushed slightly as he looked down at his corsage for Lily. "Look, she'll be down in a few minutes. That won't kill you to wait that long will it?"

Leo groaned as he let his head fall back onto the couch. Leviana quickly jumped out of her seat and ran to the front of Finn, her hands cupping in front of her body as she blushed slightly at the older boy. "You know Finn, if my stupid sister doesn't come down soon, you could always just take me to prom."

Gajeel stood up quickly and grabbed Leviana, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. "Ok little missy! You are not goin' to follow the path of your sister. Time for bed."

The young girl kicked at the air as she began to whine. "Buuuut daaaaddy! Finn won't have a date for the prom and I love him! He's my future husband!"

The iron dragon slayer rolled his eyes as he mumbled to himself. "You don't know what love is…. Not to mention you're way too young to find out what that is."

Levy watched as Gajeel took Leviana up the stairs, stopping at Lily's room and knocking on the door roughly. "Hey! Princess! Your date is here and you've kept him waitin' long enough."

"Yeah Lily! Making Finn wait this long is totally wrong and not cool! Daddy said I can go in your place if you don't come out soon!" Leviana chimed in from over her father's shoulder.

Gajeel growled as he continued to walk to Levianas' room. "I did not! Quit puttin' words in my mouth kid!"

Finn laughed slightly at Leviana, not noticing Levy looking at him with a smile.

"She sure has taken a liking to you Finn. And let me just say, thank you for taking Lily to prom. Tonight means a lot to her. Personally, I couldn't have asked for a better date for her! Gajeel thinks otherwise, but he doesn't understand the whole prom thing."

Finn looked up to Levy, his cheeks bright red. "Y-yeah well… it's the least I could do. I mean…she deserves to be happy and have a good time. I just thought this would be a good way for her to get over Chrono if I agreed to go with her tonight."

"Can we not ever mention that name ever again?"

Finn's heart began to race as he heard _her_ voice coming down the stairs. The boy quickly turned around in his seat to see Lily walking down the stairs. She looked like an angel that was floating down the stairs from heaven to him. Her long, dark green dress showing off every curve she had, along with quite a bit of tanned skin. Finn watched as she made her way over to him, her beauty knowing no bounds to him. The dress she wore was strapless that formed into a V on the backside. It came all the way down to her ankles and dawned a green ribbon in the front that was stitched just below her chest that seemed to wrap around her backside and tie in the front.

"So?"

Finn shook his head as his eyes went up to Lily's'. "What?"

Lily giggled slightly as she ran her hands down her sides. "How do I look?"

The ice mage could feel his cheeks burning as the redness came back to his pale face. "Y-you look…. Beautiful."

Lily smiled as she looked at Finn in his tuxedo. "You don't look half bad yourself there Finn."

Leo wrapped his arms around the two of them and turned them towards Levy quickly. "Yes, yes. We all look great. Let's get our pictures taken and get the hell outta here!"

Lily glared at the boy in between them. "I still don't see why you couldn't get your date to pick you up."

"Oh just shut up for two seconds! We can fight about this in the car!"

Levy hesitantly brought up her camera to her eyes and waited for the three of them to smile. As soon as she took the picture, Leo rushed his two friends out of the door, waving goodbye to Levy.

"Bye Aunt Levy! We'll be back later! We promise to be good! Oh and Lily, Finn got you this corsage, so you better wear it caz he hasn't stopped worrying about it. If you will like it or not, if he should have gotten a different color, if the flowers were the right ones he picked out-"

"Shut up already Leo!" Finn said as he was rushed out the door.

Levy shook her head as she walked to her front door and closed. "That kid is something else."

* * *

><p>Hours later….<p>

Finn sat at the table next to Lily, Leo and the blonde haired boys date. The music was loud and thumping loudly into his ear. He glanced over to Lily and imagined how much louder it was for her, since she had the dragon slayer senses. She didn't seem too affected by it as she looked ultimately bored.

'_Should I ask her to dance? But I don't know how to dance very well… I'd probably end up embarrassing her… but I should do something… I mean, what's the point to coming to this thing if all we are going to do is sit at our table all night.'_

"So this is what prom is really like? I thought it would be more exciting…." Leo said gloomily as he looked around.

"What are you talking about Leo? This is fun!" Lily said as she pointed out to the large crowd dancing behind her. "WE are not doin' anything besides sitting her, thus no excitement to be had." She said as she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.

"She's right Leo! Come ooon! Let's go dance!" Said the girl pulling on Leo's arm. Leo looked at Finn as he stood. "You coming?"

"I... I don't know. I don't usually dance like that…"

"Oh come on! Quit being a downer and join Lily in a dance!" Leo said as he wrapped his arm around his date, disappearing into the crowd.

Finn's blue eyes glanced over at Lily who let out a soft sigh as she watched everyone else enjoying their night. "So… are you disappointed that you are here with me and not Chrono?"

Lily turned her head to Finn, lowering her eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Finn's eyes darted down to his drink in his hands, his thumbs rubbing the outside of the small cup full of punch. "I-I'm just saying… if you're not having any fun with me… I could try dance to some of these songs… I may look really stupid and embarrass you in the process but…I know this night means a lot to you and all, so I'm willing to at least try."

Finn listened to the pounding sounds coming from the speakers in the large room as Lily said nothing for a long minute. The girl sitting beside him smiled as she reached over and placed her hand over one of his. Finn's eyes widened as the looked up into hazel.

"You are doing me a huge favor by being my date tonight, Finn. I know you don't feel comfortable dancing to these kinds of songs, so I'm not going to pressure you, or leave you just because you don't want to dance to a few songs." The older girl leaned in close to Finn's face and planted a soft, warm kiss on his cheeks, making Finn feel like he was melting on the spot. "I am the one who owes you. All I ask is that you dance with me to a slow song."

Finn nodded his head, finding it hard to form words after the sudden sweet touch from her lips on his cheek.

'_A slow song, huh?... I think I can do that.. Sounds easy enough. I mean, I know how to do that. Maybe then I can tell her…'_

Lily watched on as the song went on, waiting patiently for a slow song to come on. Meanwhile, all Finn could think about was how to tell his best friend how much he liked her. He kept tossing scenarios around in his head, debating if any of them would truly work. His thoughts were suddenly taken away from him when he felt the familiar pull of Lily on his arm. He looked down at her hand then up to the girl.

"Come on! A slow song is starting up!"

"O-ok…"

Lily led Finn to a small opening in the crowd, pulling him lightly in front of her as she placed her hands gently on top of his shoulders. Finn gulped slightly as he placed his hands on either side of Lily. She was just a short distance away from Finn, but her eyes were on him the whole time, a sweet smile over her face as they began to sway back and forth to the slow song playing.

"Who would have known I was going to take my best friend to prom with me…" she said softly.

"Yeah well… what Chrono did to you wasn't right. You deserve way better Lily…" Finn said with a blush over his cheeks, his eyes shifting back between hers.

Lily smiled as she looked back into his solid, navy blue eyes. "You're right Finn. I do deserve better." The dark haired girl leaned in and wrapped one arm around Finn's neck, leaving one hand in place as she rested her head on his shoulder now. Finn hesitantly moved his hands further over Lily's body, resting them over her bare back where her dress didn't cover. Finn let his chin rest on her dark hair, his heart beating rapidly in his chest.

'_Why can't I just say it?! This is the perfect time to tell her… she should be with me…'_

Without moving her head, Lily smiled and jokingly asked Finn, "Are you ok Finn? Your heart is beating really fast… and I don't need to use my senses to tell you that."

"Lily… I… I want to tell you something…. I don't know how you are going to take it, so I'm just going to lay everything out on the line." The ice mage pushed Lily away slightly, his hands cupping hers lightly. Lily's hazel eyes watched him intently as he stood before her, shaking slightly.

"Finn?"

"Lily… I… I wanted to tell you, that I—"

"Excuse me, but what are you doing with _my_ girlfriend?!" Both Lily and Finn looked over at Chrono now standing next to them as they danced, his muscles tightening in his suit as he looked to Finn.

Lily scoffed as she held Finn closer to her once more. "Leave us alone Chrono… you broke up with me remember? I asked Finn to take me to prom tonight as a favor."

"That's bullshit Lily! I never actually said it was over between us!"

Lily grabbed Finns wrist and started walking away from her ex. "Come on Finn… lets go."

Chrono quickly moved through the swarm of people to catch up to Lily, stepping in front of her and holding up his hands. "Wait. Lil, please… let's talk. And I mean talk, not fight and bicker until one of us storms off."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest staring at Chrono up and down. "Why should I even listen to one word you have to say to me?! You have no right to come here and ruin this for me."

Chrono cupped his hands together, his face softening as he got down on his knees. "Please… I'm begging you…. give me ten minutes to talk to you. That's all I'm asking for."

Lily let out a sigh as she looked back to Finn. "What do you think?"

Finn looked to Lily then to Chrono. Everything in his gut and head was telling him to say fuck it, just take the girl of his dreams and forget about Chrono ever showing up. Why should he let Chrono get another chance to win Lily back when he hasn't even tried? This was the opportunity Finn had been waiting for, for so long he had waited for a time to tell Lily how he felt about her. And now Chrono was back, pleading with them both to have ten minutes alone with Lily.

Finn's heart began to fight with him as well. It would be the right thing to do to let them talk if they didn't end things well in the first place. The younger ice mage tried desperately to think of an excuse to tell Chrono no, but deep down, he couldn't bring himself to say it. Finn looked to Lily and half smiled. "He only wants ten minutes with you. I could just go get us some punch and come find you in ten."

Lily gripped his wrist lightly. "Are you absolutely sure you are ok with this?"

Finn waved a hand as he shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? If you didn't end things on a good note, it'd be good to talk for a few minutes."

"Ok… only if you are ok with this…"

Finn slowly took his hand back from Lily's grip, waving it slightly as he turned his body to head to the table with the refreshments. "I'll see you in ten minutes."

* * *

><p>Finn stood at the end of the refreshments table, sipping his punch as he looked up at the clock for the fourth time since he left Lily. Leo came up from behind his friend and roughly wrapped his arm around Finn's neck, causing Finn to push his drink further into his face and all over his tux.<p>

"Yo! Finn! Couldn't help but notice you've been sitting over here for the past hour now… where did Lily go?"

Finn lowered his hand away from his face as he glared over at Leo, his drink running down from his nose to his suit. Leo raised a brow as he looked at Finn.

"What happened to your face? You get a little too excited there?"

Finn grabbed a napkin and began to wipe off his face and suit. "For your information, when you came up and surprised me, I accidently spilled my drink all over myself… and as for Lily… I don't know what happened to her. She went to talk with Chrono for a few minutes and I haven't seen her since."

Leo took his arm back and looked at his friend seriously. "Wait… you let her go with that asshole? On prom night?"

"Yeah… he wanted to smooth things out because he didn't like the way things ended between them or something like that."

Leo let out a long sigh as he put his hands behind his head. "Oh man… you are such an idiot."

"What? What did I do now, all-knowing-one?!"

Leo held up a finger to Finn as he spoke. "It's the prom, man! You know what happens to couples when they leave the prom right?!"

Finn blushed bright red as he looked at his friend intently. "You honestly think Lily would do that to me?! I mean, with her ex?!"

Leo moved his head off to the side with his hands as he shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno… you tell me. You were the one who let her go with him. And from the sounds of it, you being alone for an hour and all… makes me believe that they are well.. you know."

Finn growled as he headed quickly for the door. Leo called out to him as he watched his friend push his way through the crowd. "Dude, wait! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going to prove you wrong! I'm going to find Lily and Chrono!"

"Finn! Wait!—god damn it… I need to find my date…" Leo said as he looked around the large room.

As Finn made his way outside, walking quickly to the parked cars in the parking lot of the school, he looked around frantically for any sight of Lily and Chrono. After a few minutes of walking, he saw Lily sitting on the back of Chrono's car, a smile over her face as he ran his fingers through her hair. Finn's fist clenched tightly as he made his way over to them.

Lily looked up as she heard Finn's footsteps approaching them, her face lighting up brightly as she stepped down from the car. "Finn! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! We lost track of time!" Lily stopped the younger boy in his tracks as she grabbed his hands with hers. "You won't believe this, but… Chrono agreed to change the band's name and put me in charge! And we're back together! We totally worked things out, isn't that great?!" Lily leaned in and whispered. "I was also thinking about taking our relationship further tonight after prom… I think it would be really good for us. Oh my gosh I'm just so happy right now! Oh, did you have something you wanted to tell me before I left?"

Finn was at a loss for words. His heart had fallen into a dark pit in his stomach as he fought back the urge to break down before his friend. He let his happen, had he just said no, if he had just taken Lily away from this creep, he would have had a chance. He didn't care about having sex with her after the prom, if that even was a thing that people did anymore, he just wanted to tell her that he loved her. That he wanted to be with her. How he had these feelings for her since they were younger, but was too afraid to say anything. Now it was too late. She had made up her mind who she wanted.

'_Perhaps… I am nothing more than a best friend to her… nothing more….'_

"Hey… you ok Finn?" Lily asked softly.

Finn looked at her and forced a smile. "Yeah. And it's nothing… just… just forget about what I was going to say. I honestly can't remember what it was." Finn gave a chuckle as he took a step back. "Pretty stupid, right?"

Lily's eyes softened, she could tell he was lying, about what, she couldn't put her finger on. "So… are you ok with me going home with Chrono then?"

Finn waved a hand as he took another step back. "Yeah. Totally. Look, I've gotta… I've got to go find Leo. Prom is just about over and I still need to drive him home so… I'll talk to you later, k Lil?"

"Ok, Finn…." The dark haired girl watched her friend turn and walk away from her, something eating at him as he left.

As Finn slowly made his way up to his car, he noticed Leo and his date making out against it. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked up to them. "Are you seriously making out on my mom's car?"

Leo pushed the older girl away from him and grinned. "Hey! Did you find Lily?"

Finn leaned up against the car beside Leo, his head hanging down. "Yeah… and she's probably about to make the worst mistake of her life…"

"She's gonna go do it with Chrono isn't she?"

"Ugh! Don't even say it… it sounds worse out loud!"

"Well… speaking of "doin' it," Leo said as he reached into his pocket of his pants, pulling out the money his father had given to him and handing it to Finn, "I'ma need to borrow your car for a while."

Finn quickly turned to Leo, yelling at him angrily. "What the hell?! Are you paying me to use my mom's car so you can have sex?!"

"Uh, yeah… that's what it looks like."

"Dude, no way!"

Leo pushed the girl away from his body, he moved so he was now facing Finn. The blonde haired boy placed his hands on Finns shoulders. "Look, we're friends right? They let each other use each other's cars for sex."

Finn glared at Leo as he spoke. "That's not what friends do."

Leo held up a finger to Finn as he smiled. "That's why we're _best_ friends! This is what best friends do." The blonde haired boy gripped Finns' shoulder tightly, holding up the money in his other hand. "I'm giving you money!"

Finn stared into Leo's olive-green eyes as Leo tried desperately to give off that puppy dog look in his eyes. The ice mage sighed as he reached into his pocket and handed Leo the keys. "Just… don't make a mess back there…and make it quick. I just want to go home."

Leo grabbed the keys quickly and smiled at Finn. "I owe you one! This is why you are my best friend!"

Finn scoffed as he headed back inside. '_Glad to know that everyone else is getting a happy night besides me….'_

As Leo and his date quickly went into the back seat of the car, Finn started walking to the schools entrance to go back inside.

"Oi! No magic boy!"

Finn stopped and turned around to face the jerk who had taken Lily away from him. "What do you want now Chrono?"

Everything happened in a split second. As Finn turned around to face Chrono, the ice mages' fist was already coming at his face, landing a successful punch in his left eye, knocking him down onto the ground in the process.

Finn groaned as he reached up to his eye, wincing as his fingers brushed against the bruised skin. He looked up at Chrono as he propped himself up with his other arm. "What the hell was that for?!"

Chrono grinned as he leaned over Finn. "That's for takin' my girl to prom!"

"She asked me to go with her!" Finn said as he started to stand back up. Chrono smirked as he quickly brought his foot up and kicked Finn in the ribs. The younger ice mage yelled out in pain as Chrono's' heavy boot made contact with his side.

"Yeah right… like Lily would ever ask a pip-squeak like you to the prom. She shouldn't even bother with a kid like you. Someone who can't use their magic, should just… uh… just stay home! _Non_-magic users shouldn't be allowed in this school."

"Too bad they let assholes and idiots in like you." Finn managed to say as he sat up. Chrono growled angrily as he kneeled down and threw another punch into Finn's face, catching his jaw with his knuckles.

"If I ever see you with my Lily again, I will do far worse than a black eye and a bloody jaw."

Chrono stood back up and grinned at his work as Finn laid down on the cold, hard ground, groaning in pain. Finn waited until the larger ice mage was out of sight before sitting up and assessing the damage he received. He once again brought his hand up to his face, running it over his jaw and feeling the warm blood trickling out from a small cut. The blue haired boy groaned as he looked up into the night sky.

"As if my night couldn't get any worse…"

* * *

><p>Leo pleaded with Finn as they pulled up into his drive way. "Finn, I said I was sorry! I honestly didn't even hear Chrono coming! I mean, I'm no dragon slayer or nothing…."<p>

Finn rested his head on his hand as his headache continued to throb. "I said its fine, Leo… just get out so I can go home… I just want to forget about this night…"

"Forget about what? The fact that Lily is having sex with Chrono for the first time, the fact that I had sex with my date, and you got your ass kicked?"

Finn looked over to Leo, sending him daggers through his gaze. Leo could feel the cool tingle down his spine as he unbuckled his seat belt. "O-ok man… chill out…. I didn't mean to make you mad, I was just playin' around. I really am sorry I didn't have you back this time."

"Just… get out Leo."

The blonde haired boy stared at his friend and slowly left his car, feeling horrible that Finn was beaten up while he was enjoying the pleasure of a woman in the back seat of his car. Finn knew Leo was truly sorry for how things went tonight, but in his mind, he just wanted to forget. He wanted to forget that his date ever happened. He wanted to move on, and concentrate on other things.

Finn's mind was completely blank as he drove to his own house, unsure about what to think anymore. The ice mage pulled into his own driveway, sitting in the car for another minute to gather himself. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain the black eye and the fat lip he acquired from just going to the prom, along with the large boot print on his side.

'_Hopefully, mom and dad will be sleeping and I won't have to talk to them when I get inside… god I hope that they're asleep… I just want to go to bed….'_

Finn stepped out of the small car and headed for the front door. He paused for a moment as he placed his hand on the door knob. _'I'm sure dad will end up saying, I told you so.' _Finn let out a breath of air as he opened the door to his house, stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind him. As he took off his shoes, he could hear someone in the living room nearby weeping. '_Is that… mom?'_

Finn lifted his head as he walked further into the room where his mother sat on the couch. He looked at his mother who had her face in her hands as she cried. Finn stepped further into the room, setting his jacket down on the arm of the couch.

"Mom… why… are you crying?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am a terrible person to Finn…. . anywhos, like I said, rushed at the end, but like I said, I may go back and edit it later. I hope you guys are still enjoying this story, I means a lot to me that you guys are reviewing, faving, following this. And enjoying the other two stories I have written. I do want to let you guys know, I do plan on taking a small break from this story to write a chapter or two for my other story, Centaur Paradise. I promise not to take a super long break again lol<strong>


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